


beau(tea)

by wokainight



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Awkwardness, Comedy, F/M, Hybrids, M/M, Multi, Romance, Romantic Comedy, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-13
Updated: 2018-05-17
Packaged: 2019-04-22 05:28:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 22
Words: 21,661
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14301786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wokainight/pseuds/wokainight
Summary: johnny thinks his best friend needs to get laid (in the most subtle ways).or; don't get me wrong, the cage is a terrible place.





	1. city or shitty

**Author's Note:**

> i have no idea what i'm doing
> 
> *warning: mentions of sex, some description of violence and stuff like that. nothing too graphic or hardcore cos i can't write smut for shhhhhht.

 

dribbles of ice flooded the whole city down on a rather chirpy monday morning. there was a rare occasion of celebration with the eve of the new year and hastened footsteps polluted the city streets like uncoordinated tap dancers under the pressure of a posh audience.

 

the crunch of layered snow under dainty shoes and heels alike plucked prints and holes in the rather uneven, yet somewhat immaculate grounds. the unadulterated colour scheme adhered like verglas in the depth of busy, rumbling minds. 

 

similar to a frost bite on the edge of negativity.

 

above the noise pollution of heart-wrenching steps in another hopeful start, were the ringing of bells and chains knocking onto surfaces like subtle rappings. the strict collars-- some cotton, some leather, and some another variety of material-- whips bony hands into obsession.

 

there was signs everywhere.

 

_'do not litter'_

 

_'hybrids MUST be on leashes'_

 

 _'coexistence with each other'_ and a rather forced smile upon a rabbit hybrid and a wide-eyed female human.

 

_'make the city a better place'_

 

_'the cage in 8.2km'_

 


	2. johnny or younghoe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> sena hates monday mornings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> main oc = jung sena

 

between addressing her rather stern supervisor's accusation and going with the flow in a victimised manner, sena boldly chose the latter as she bowed in a submissive manners, eyes locking into the ground for good measures.

 

"my deepest apologies miss park, i'll redo the papers." sena uttered, voice low and rather suppressed in tone as she denied herself the pleasure of making eye contact with the elder woman.

 

her supervisor gave a blatant scoff, pen tapping onto the wooden desk surface as she grunted the next few words, "are you stressed recently? all your work so far has been a tragedy and for your information miss jung, we didn't hire you to make stupid mistakes. we don't pay you to sit here and look pretty."

 

sena couldn't reply with anything of enough combat strength.

 

there was no incorrect facts between the lines.

 

she was currently,

 

constantly,

 

out of focus.

 

\---

 

"so why are you going around like a headless chicken anyways?" johnny seo, one of sena's closest friend questioned as he took a bite of his chicken sandwich.

 

"it's cold," was all sena could say as she averted her best friend's questioning gaze, unable to hold her end of the deal. friends weren't supposed to keep things from each other--

 

but somehow, sena always seem to break the rules wherever she went.

 

(intentionally,

 

or not.)

 

johnny gave her an unconvinced expression as he placed down his lunch and a rather soft ring alerted him of the incoming message. it was as if he just won the lotto with the radiant smile playing around his lips.

 

"who's that?"

 

sena regret asking.

 

johnny broke into a completely cheeky grin as he showed her the screen to give away a picture of a snow leopard hybrid with multiple piercings and a black hoodie, layered with a stiff red jacket in a complete neutral pose. he had the cheese sign up with the most unnerving expression ever.

 

"he's so cute!" johnny cooed, rushing to type back a reply. 

 

sena could only scrunch her facial muscles into a bulldog-like expression, not understanding all the hype that came with _pet_ hybrids. they were essentially human beings with a 'genetic defect' or so the government hid. most people lived day to day without questioning the source of their existence. just like your average household pets, hybrids were thought of the same way. another source of company, with a better communication factor and a more realistic portrayal of social interactions. they were just decorated with animated ears and tails-- and were able to provide... um--

 

the most intimate contact.

 

sena shifted in her spot as she poked fun at her rather healthy green salad and shovelled a handful of greens in just for the sake of filling her grumbling stomach.

 

johnny casted a short glance her way before trying to break the silence, (he knew how sena disliked talking about such matters), "so tell me why you're not getting one again?"

 

"i don't need a sex partner," was all she said, forking out another mouthful of greens into her mouth.

 

the male sits down to contemplate about the statement, weighing out her comment. "we don't always fuck," he disclosed, causing sena to throw him a thoroughly disgusted look, not wanting to know any further details. 

 

to this, johnny has to add a bit more detail, "just when ten gets ha-"

 

sena stuffed a piece of bread she took from johnny's sandwich into his mouth, halting his gruesome continuation (well in her ears anyways).

 

johnny chuckled as he proceeds to consume the bread and winces when sena hits his arm.

 

_"you're such a salty virgin"_

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> get to know me #oo1: hi, my name is aini


	3. now or never

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> johnny knows no boundaries.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> best friend #1: seo youngho (referred to as johnny)  
> \+ has a snow leopard hybrid named ten for around nine months now  
> \+ seems rather affectionate towards sena  
> \+ lives fairly close to sena's apartment

 

_“not quite sure what you **don’t** understand.” _

 

sena wasn’t quite as happy and content as she should be as a living, breathing human being who has rights (which apparently don’t quite exist in johnny’s dictionary). the male had offered to drop her off that exact day they had the uncomfortable conversation and getting a hybrid and snippets of johnny's sexual life which sena should not and will never want to know about (it has permanently scarred here) (more damaging than it should have been because sena knows both parties) (ten is cute).

 

and whilst she accepted, 

 

he decided to take her for a trip to the source of such species: hybrids.

 

the cage (which is like the epicentre of hybrid cultures. aka _the factory_ \-- as sena likes to label it.) wasn't too far off from their workplace, and by all means, sena knew just about that much. but whilst she was lecturing johnny about how dumb and how much of a busybody he was, 

 

they arrived.

 

just like that.

 

"how long was i talking for?" she watched as a smiley owner rushed out of the building with an unknown hybrid in tow (it was dark and their operations should have ceased to stop at such ungodly hours (it was like seven pm) but the cage is open to the public 24/7, encouraging the distasteful culture into the hands of the public at a convenient manner).

 

"half an hour," johnny rubbed his chin, glancing at his side mirrors to make sure that his parking was within the lines, "i didn't get half of what you were saying by the way."

 

"i said you're a disgraceful-"

 

johnny had exited the vehicle before sena could utter another word. she was left hanging and the door on her side opened up, showcasing johnny's shit eating grin.

 

"if i see another tooth, i'm punching you in the face."

 

physical threats work with johnny.

 

because sena's a big girl who has several different qualifications on various martial art schemes. one being tae kwon do, another judo, kickboxing-- and you name it. she's a professional and isn't afraid to use such techniques on her gigantic friend over here.

 

she can also lift him up like a bag of rice and throw the tall, muscular body over to the other side of mars (not really)

 

(but she is strong).

 

the male swallowed his smile, doing the grandma without teeth thing as he stretched his upper lips to embrace his gums and maxillary dentition. 

 

_"yhes ma'hm."_

 

\---

 

johnny winds up capturing sena in a tight choke hold, his biceps, triceps, and triceratops in full glory ~~(keep me going with the muscle naming thing)~~. sena literally feels her windpipe being squeezed and as she continuously elbowed the troublesome male, he didn't let go as he got both of them inside the hybrid center, greeted by a rather jolly blue-haired worker 

 

(who oddly looks like **olaf** \-- _to sena anyways_ ).

 

"hi guys! welcome to the cage! first timers or?"

 

rounded, caramel ears with a mighty mane and a flashy, wild appearance came from underneath the blue locks' desk. 

 

it was a bloody lion.

 

and for goodness sake, sena will never get used to the hybrid's other form.

 

she partly shrieked whilst climbing johnny like a monkey would on a tree full of bananas. 

 

"lucas," the worker addressed, somewhat used to sena's unnerved reaction, "at least stop scaring the poor citizens."

 

the lion grumbled a low tone, 

 

perhaps cackling at sena's misery as she gave it a good glare, before letting go of her grip on johnny whilst dusting her pencil skirt. 

 

"that was probably the closest you've been to me," johnny comments despite the tension sena has with the damned lion. 

 

way to go bestie.

 

what an icebreaker.

 

the lion-- lucas, then poofs into thin smoke, before appearing as a fully nude male with the caramel ears and a  _whishing_ tail in tow. sena could only forcefully shut her eyes as she hears echoes of johnny's chuckles and the worker telling the lion off for tainting a young lady's eyes. and by the sound of clothes wrinkling here and there, as if being placed onto a body, sena deemed it okay to open her very own eyes and sighed in relief as lucas buttons up a plain white dress shirt whilst wearing blue, ripped jeans with more holes than material.

 

 _"you scaredy cat,"_ lucas comments in broken korean as sena eyes him suspiciously between the worker (whose name tag reads: jungwoo). 

 

not that sena was intentionally putting out a questioning gaze (it was more like a dumb stare), jungwoo took it as a matter he should clarify. "lucas is mine," he explained. "we run the shelter together. he coaxes the newcomers and i handle people like the both of you," he shed a rather sincere smile whilst ruffling the towering male's locks. "he's very playful but he means good. i hope he didn't spook you out too much. sorry about that."

 

"it's okay," sena mumbles back as johnny looks around the corridor in interest, as it has been a while since he paid visit to the cage after receiving ten, nine months prior to the current visit. 

 

jungwoo starts explaining the various types of hybrids available-- and basically, the amount is as vast as the blue sky and the twinkling stars from galaxies away. more than his soothing, warm voice, sena paid attention to the whitewashed walls and johnny humming to the new pop song repeated constantly on the radio. at the end of the monotone corridor, they entered a sterilisation cubicle where gusts of air ' _free_ ' them of various dirts and bacterias alike. it was common protocol in various centers of the cage and was put in place to prevent hybrids from catching human colds or any other kinds of unwanted illnesses.

 

sena catches some of her mid length strands in her mouth and struggles to get them out,

 

only for johnny to step in and tucking the stray locks behind her ear. 

 

she muttered a few words of gratitude before following jungwoo to sanitise their hands using an automated alcohol rub and watching as lucas shrunk away from his hands, stretching his body wayyy too much. 

 

"he hates the synthetic smell," jungwoo clarifies, beaming at the two as they passed the last stage of cleansing, and made their way to the varying sectors of hybrids. 

 

"so what were _you_ looking for?"

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> get to know me #oo2: i have a thing for cheese, peanut butter and dark chocolate


	4. timeouts or tigers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> sena has a thing for fluffy white things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the cage worker #2: kim jungwoo  
> \+ owns the lion hybrid, lucas  
> \+ resembles olaf (according to sena)  
> \+ has a pretty smile (definitely not according to sena)

 

between jungwoo's expectant stare, and johnny's trademark shit-eating grin, sena was stuck in between the two males (and a skittish, hyperactive lion at the back). 

 

the clock (somewhere or rather) seems to be ticking meticulously to the rather fastening heartbeat inside sena's chest. it was alarming how tall the two were-- and sena was rather suspicious (or fully convinced) that the both of them knew each other due to how well they work together (to ambush her into getting a hybrid). and she's rather skeptical of anything and everything which was about to be presented to her.

 

in order to break the silence as gradually and carefully as possible, sena dove into a side track, hoping they'll let her off the hook with this excuse.

 

"oh i'm not looking for anything," she hooked a sturdy arm around johnny's neck (having to jump up), whilst pulling him down simultaneously, having him in a secure choke hold. "my friend," she gestures to the struggling male, "here, took me by force."

 

jungwoo's reaction almost seemed as if he was expecting the answer, humming a dazzling tune with his thin, red lips relaxed into a straight smile (the ends were curving). 

 

"well," he glanced at her,

 

_"why don't you just take a look?"_

 

\---

 

and so,

 

sena did.

 

she trailed behind the two exhilarated males, animatedly chatting away as if sena wasn't the main reason that they have gotten to know each other (or in sena's conspiracy theory, they were already quite good friends). 

 

they went pass the marine and reptile section in a dash (because sena's apartment wasn't about to be flooded with water and she has practically no space to build a frickin' pool). and to be honest,

 

she wasn't to keen on getting a mermaid.

 

(not that she was keen at all...)

 

\---

 

the flying creatures section was definitely out of question.

 

she didn't quite like feathers for a starter--

 

and she couldn't imagine hearing a morning call everyday.

 

if you haven't caught on by now,

 

sena's not quite the most meticulous person with housework or is an early riser at any point of her life.

 

in johnny's words--

 

she's ' _lazy_ '.

 

\---

 

"honestly, there's only the mammals left," jungwoo admitted as lucas bounced about by his side, a stern grip on the lion's wrist.

 

"you're similar to me then," johnny enlists, "i prefer mammals too."

 

sena almost scowls in full volume as she vomited the next few words, 

 

"i don't prefer any of them."

 

\---

 

"cats or dogs?" the worker enquires, glancing between the two corridors. 

 

"go with cats," johnny advised, "they're cuter."

 

sena shrugs as she continued business administrations on her phone, she received a message from her colleague, informing her that tomorrow will be a day off due to major maintenance within the company architectures. she fist-pumps and does her very own little cheerleading sequence before catching both of their stare.

 

steadily placing her arm down, she clears her throat rather loudly whilst slipping her phone into her coat pocket and walking ahead of the two.

 

her step quickens as she took one of the two split between the mammalian sector, speed-walking ahead (in hopes of hiding her rather blatant sense of embarrassment. 

 

in the background, she could hear the stupid lion's ovation.

 

"silly girl! silly-" before it was muffled.

 

(by jungwoo's palm,

 

_most probably.)_

 

\---

 

she was so far ahead of the other two that she found herself rather lost in an unfamiliar section within the mammalian sector. the rooms for this place was much bigger than the other sectors, and she found herself glancing at the hybrids. (so far, she's been too concentrated on her phone to take any proper attention on the caged beings.

 

she knew that if she did look up,

 

the poor things would be glancing at her with hopeful orbs.

 

and she wasn't quite the type to walk away without any sense of heartlessness.

 

she was right though.

 

the moment her eyes started to dart from side to side (in hopes of finding the exit), she meets rather large felines. some lions, jaguars, leopards, and as far as the horizon goes with the species.

 

they don't say much to her,

 

choosing to plainly sit closer to glass with doe eyes blinking in a lingering manner, to showcase their obedience.

 

she musters the most apologetic (yet distressed) expression she could manage before brisk walking towards a corner and her eyes was caught on an empty cage. there was no hybrid in sight and she felt safer in this position, with no eyes begging so desperately at her deteriorating walls.

 

the cage was fairly clean and organised, as if no one was living there.

 

and she found home in that.

 

she taps on her right foot, humming to her most favourite song lately (which is never mainstream) (she's not johnny gdi). and scans the entire place, waiting for jungwoo and johnny to catch up before she gets to get home and takes the most rejuvenating bath she has ever taken with that lavender bath bomb she bought the other day.

 

and with due time,

 

(albeit at a very taxing rate),

 

the two came (lucas was saying hi to every single cage in the background, eliciting responses from the hybrids trapped within).

 

jungwoo gives her a long look as he glanced between the empty cage and sena's neutral gaze.

 

_"this one?"_

 

sena turns back to the rather barren space and frowns in response. "there's nothing there."

 

jungwoo laughs a light one, the sound echoes like tiptoes and soft chiming bells. his laugh was pacifying in a sense, helping sena's tight shoulders to droop a little in the process.

 

johnny also seems to be gazing intently at the said cage.

 

"he's very shy," jungwoo elucidates, "never quite willing to show himself to people and would often refuse to be patted. he's not a cub anymore... so i'm not too sure why he's so reluctant in finding a forever home."

 

"how old is he?"

 

sena wasn't too sure how she felt when her question was countered with another.

 

"how old are you?"

 

"i'm twenty-one."

 

 _"he's two years older."_ jungwoo then grabs a set of keys before unlocking the door, "would you like to take a look?"

 

he gave her no chance to reply before johnny grabs ahold of her shoulders and proceeds to waddle her in.

 

"guys i've got like no money--"

 

"i'll take care of that," johnny reassures.

 

it was like the driving end point that got sena into a spluttering mess. no way in hell was she ready to house a large, grown feline in her measly apartment (or does she have the economic resource to). and she wasn't liking how commercially they were presented to the public (and she wasn't thirsty to get laid or something) (she likes being a virgin, in all honesty). 

 

"i'm fine without--" and her words trailed off when jungwoo pulls on what seemed to be a large blanket off a sizeable figure. 

 

at first, she wasn't so sure what the hype was all about.

 

and her morals contradict herself.

 

it's a more intense feeling of the usual, _'should i, or should i not finish this whole tub of ice cream in one sitting?'._ because she feels her heart palpating even further. 

 

it was definitely sexual attraction.

 

because the eyes that met her's

 

was definitely **_beautiful_**.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> get to know me #oo3: i inhale a tub of ice cream as if it's air


	5. hymn or him

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> jungwoo has an odd thing for hybrids (and lucas).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> about the cage (and sena):  
> \- a center which provides services in purchasing a hybrid  
> \- buying a hybrid isn't quite economical  
> \- sena's broke  
> \- her set of morals as a human being with common sense and a good ground dictates that such trades aren't ethical in any way or form  
> \- some hybrids are more expensive than others  
> \- sena's a fool for white, fluffy things

 

sena discovers why ~~stupid~~ people would use up a large sum of their savings (some even going as far as taking out a loan), to purchase such _delights._

 

pointer one was that they are very _beautiful_.

 

it was an overrated and well known factor in the overall craze and flying sales number for said beings. hybrids were sought out for being a bewitching company with the aims of companionships (of various kinds). and most people in modern day, were quite detached to each other, turning to such pets for comforts. but despite only having middle to higher class having them, it hadn't stop the less fortunate individuals to take a loan in order to house such creatures.

 

~~sena would too.~~

 

no she would not.

 

"sena, i think you've found him," johnny murmurs into her right ear, almost delighted at her positive reaction.

 

"oOH! RED!" Lucas motions to his cheeks, making circular movements with his index fingers. 

 

The divine being,

 

a white bengal tiger,

 

glanced up from what seemed to be a peaceful slumber as his eyes darts from jungwoo to the _intruders_. he takes no effort in questioning any of the strangers, knowing the protocol and how things work around here. he was one of the eldest in the whole facility for goodness sake. 

 

sena snaps out of her rather rude stare and shakes her head in the process. 

 

"johnny let's go," she tugs at his arm, "i have work tomorrow."

 

johnny raises an inquisitive brow as he deflected her rather dubious lie. 

 

_"your text didn't say so."_

 

\---

 

in the end, jungwoo sits down inside the confinements with them, the male tiger watching the new couple, with sena half-hiding behind johnny's (thankfully) broad frame.

 

"are you _shy_?" he whispers to her, trying to keep a more private conversation at hand (though he knows how good feline's hearing was (ten was a solid proof of that) (he like hears through walls and everything)).

 

sena hisses at the thought and proceeds to sit at a more exposed angle to the cautious hybrid, ears flat.

 

"he's a twenty-three year old white bengal tiger." jungwoo explains, "we've had him for a while and despite the amount of interest he gets for being a white deviation of his species, he blatantly refuses to be seen. no matter what. it was that, or no one seems to notice him in his cage."

 

johnny seems to point out the obvious, "we're seeing him right now though."

 

"yeah," jungwoo tries to process that, _"i'm not sure why."_

 

the tiger hybrid didn't bother to answer.

 

\---

 

"how difficult is he?" johnny asked in sena's stead as the girl plays a glancing game with the tiger simultaneously whilst jungwoo observed between the two.

 

"very reserved and bashful, even insecure--" to this, the tiger produces a low growl, despising the word used to describe him. jungwoo snaps his head to the cowering male (he was hunched over in a defensive position), "why don't you prove me wrong then?" he jokes in a rather intimate manner before turning back to johnny. "has this side to him as well. fairly protective of his belongings and even though he doesn't quite get along with other large cats, they don't quite fight. there's just this eerie tension between all of them."

 

"he's an alpha type isn't he?"

 

"pretty dominating," jungwoo affirms.

 

sena's almost exhausted by the amount of staring she does. she feels her fingertips producing electrical statics, as if she's been rubbing at them for some time now. and there's a calling at a teeny tiny corner at the back of her head which beckons her to reach out and make small, fluttering movements on top of the luscious fur. 

 

she loves the texture.

 

it's almost imprisoned in her mind and echoes in her tactile sensations.

 

she was meant to ask before she did the deed, but her finger reached forwards and catches on the soft strands of fur, the velvety, silky sensation hitting her skin as she dragged two, gentle fingers on top of the tiger's forehead. he was in his animal form, but sena found that he looked adorable more than anything.

 

whilst lucas' form was a tad too large and ' _loud_ ', the white hybrid in front of her was the slightest touch smaller, and much more tamer in sena's opinion.

 

she was never good with ear-piercing creatures.

 

no offence to lucas.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> get to know me #oo4: i cram for a living (study-wise)


	6. romance or #no_man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> sena despised feeling some things.

 

it was a tad before nine when both sena and johnny settled back into the vehicle and the male watched the female in a thoughtful manner (though almost like a hawk). and she's just unbothered by his gaze whilst having her own life crisis.

 

maybe it was because she had never created any kind of romantic relationships (not that she found anyone worthy enough).

 

(maybe except for this really cute neighbour she's had for the past few years.)

 

(she won't mention who he is.)

 

~~_(you'll see him soon enough.)_ ~~

 

"you liked him," johnny rehearsed, for the nth time that night. he was quite observant of sena's behaviour and somehow, he felt as if it was his duty to keep this rather naive girl content in life. but all he could see these days was the fact that she didn't quite have her head screwed on right. "right?"

 

sena shook her head in strong disapproval, settling her elbows on the slight edge of the windows whilst looking out. 

 

while the snow storm had settled quite considerably, the colour scheme reminded her of a certain hybrid she just met. the way his chocolate brown eyes captured her's triggered something unsettling inside of her. it wasn't butterflies (or so she hoped). 

 

the engine starts anyways,

 

and sena finds her eyes glued on the side mirrors, watching as the cage gets further and further away from sight.

 

the drive was silent for a while except the noises the car makes when it hurdles over a considerable amount of snow and johnny's rather blaring radio.

 

he turns in down for a short conversation (or so she hoped).

 

"what's bothering you these days?"

 

he knew the answer even before sena did,

 

_"nothing."_

 

\---

 

"are you sure you don't want to sleepover?" johnny unlocks the door as sena gathers her things. his eyes trailed over her speedy hands, before he decides to add in another sticky factor, "ten's been missing you for quite a while now."

 

"i miss him too," she adds softly, before slinging her bag over her head, "but i need to work on this proposal and some other papers at home."

 

"i'd rather you not work on your day off." johnny leans back, letting go off the wheel.

 

sena shrugs, "i want to."

 

johnny's lips settled for a thin, strict line as he observed her entire body language. "you know i know you're hiding something from me. and we all know how terrible you are at lying. so why don't you just spit it all out? you're infatuated with that tiger earlier on but you decided not to get him despite me covering the costs? and what about this extra hard working side to you? in all honesty, jung sena, you're a headless chicken trying to keep busy to get your mind off something."

 

sena's lips pursed on its own accord as she looked away and shut the door behind her.

 

she really did not want johnny knowing.

 

it was way too private and humiliating in her perspective if he did catch a whiff of what actually happened to her. 

 

(he _sort_ _of_ did.)

 

\---

 

today hadn't been such a bright day. 

 

in addition to the forceful visit to the cage, the elevator at sena's apartment decided to stop working and she had to take the stairs instead whilst grumpily supporting her upper body, hands on her knees as she trekked the seemingly endless stairs. 

 

add to that, she met someone she wished to avoid for a few while.

 

(how much time that is,

 

it's a mystery to mankind.)

 

"hey sena," he greets rather warmly (and sena almost forgot her sworn vendetta and elevated levels of stress due to him.)

 

"uh hi lee taeil," she fumbles about to find her keys quickly, wanting to avoid this rather dreadful moment whilst forgetting to keep her cool.

 

taeil tilts his head at this, unsure of why she had addressed him with his full name. the male was five years older than her-- but that didn't stop him from wanting to befriend the younger female. they become rather close almost instantaneously, with honourifics gone out the window before any of them could properly blink and a rather intimate connection was formed. taeil was in no way great at handling relationships, but sena was an easygoing person to work with,

 

and hence,

 

they made it work.

 

the biblical reference of _loving one's neighbour_ had been rather accurate in their case--

 

but guess what?

 

being the hopeless romantic chick she is (not really a damsel in distress though-- in her opinion anyways), she, as cliche as it sounds, fell for the elder male and found comfort in his presence.

 

and then everything changed.

 

the ball was completely thrown off when lee taeil,

 

her rather flawless source of hardcore infatuation,

 

sheltered an ocelot hybrid.

 

a _male_ ocelot hybrid.

 

"winwin, you _remember_ sena right?" taeil ushered the rather mousy hybrid forward, propelling him to shake sena's hand or at least do some formalities.

 

the ocelot shoves a hiss at sena's way before retreating back to taeil's apartment.

 

sena didn't know what was worse. 

 

the fact that he scratched her outstretched palm on the way,

 

or the fact that _taeil rushed back in to comfort the said hybrid._

 

_( **without** batting an eye at the injured victim.)_

 


	7. heads or taeils

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> sometimes, you just don't want to entertain your neighbour.

 

sena dumps her whole work bag onto the couch and proceeds to slump against the chair in a lethargic manner. not even bothering to undo the buttons on her shirt to properly ventilate her lungs (or to stop trying to constrict the shirt opening around her neck like a python would). 

 

sometimes feeling breathless was a pleasure in its own form.

 

and whilst she was staring endlessly at the colourless and blank space of her ceiling, she found a familiar ringtone invading the space, causing a reflex on her right arm as she absentmindedly picked up the caller and sighed right into the receiver.

 

_"babe, you okay?"_

 

she groans at the hearty nickname and pauses for a short moment of thought before responding. 

 

"what is it _youngho_?" though she said it more like a statement than a proper question.

 

youngho was johnny by nature-- but the male preferred to be called using his english name, finding his korean name a tad too stiff for his liking. sena calls him so in order to slightly aggravate him (to any kind of degree would do) (she just wants to get back a little (however she can)).

 

 _"ugh, you're a dev-"_ there was a sudden, pained sound, before the other end was taken by another individual. _"sENAA! YOU'RE SO MEAN! YOU NEVER COME TO VISIT!"_ ten, johnny's snow leopard hybrid practically screamed into her ear, causing her to drag the phone away as fast as she could, wincing at how much damage was done to her poor ear drums.

 

"sorry ten," sena sinks back onto her couch as she played with her fingers, stretching them in a therapeutic manner, "i've been busy."

 

it seemed as if she was outsmarted by the hybrid as he pestered her in return. _"you're lying! i smell you on john-john! he smells like absolutely everything! and i hate it! but i can smell you on him and that's no fair!"_

 

she chortled at ten's inventory of complaints, before humming in reply. "i get it, i'll visit you tomorrow."

 

 _"yoU PROMISE?"_ his voice breaks at the declaration, exceptionally ecstatic to meet his owner's very own best friend.

 

"pinky promise," sena adds at the end, hearing the accompaniment of ten's enraptured personality, alongside johnny's low chuckles.

 

 _"see you sena! sleep well!"_ the call ends without sena understanding why johnny called in the first place--

 

_beep beep._

 

 

**from: _j(_** **_oh.no_ ** **_)ny_ **

**to: senaty**

 

**ttyt ;)**

 

 

sena didn't even bother to reply before she shut her eyes, listening to rather distant sounds of cars honking and the noise pollution surrounding the city steps. 

 

she needed a break.

 

\---

 

her tuesday starts with a rather hearty bowl of oatmeal tossed with a handful of blueberries, and a sprinkle of honey. sena like to think she was being health conscious and was very good at managing her diet--

 

but she had terrible crashes due to the her sweet tooth... and she hoped it was the same case for every other female being ( _ahem_ , due to some special time during the month). 

 

johnny left her a message saying she could come anytime she'd like,

 

attached with a picture of ten sleeping with the starry blankets sena bought for him for last year's christmas. her heart softened immensely at the image and sighs into a spoonful of mush before deciding to get some news on screen to bring some kind of presence into her rather dull tuesday morning.

 

_'increased number in burglaries in houses with no hybrid companionship near--'_

 

sena's eyes was glued onto the screen as she coughed mildly at a the possibility of her breakfast going down the wrong tube.

 

she froze slightly when the area mentioned was no more than two blocks away from her current apartment and she swallowed down the rest of the spoonful before cursing her luck.

 

she did thought of the possibility of being mugged, 

 

but of course,

 

why would it _ever_ occur to her?

 

(she's got nothing to steal from.)

 

\---

 

sena was indifferently placing her belongings (e.g. laptop) into her backpack to spend the day at johnny's place. she knew that ten would usher her into a sleepover (and she can never deny the loveable thing of its desires) and so, she packed enough for a day's stay (johnny had her basic toiletries anyways (he tends to stock up for her in case she does stay overnight)). 

 

she hulled everything over the narrowness of her very own back, cursing at the weight before trudging over to her front door and basically escorting herself out of her very own apartment.

 

what she didn't expect so early in the morning--

 

was taeil outside,

 

talking to someone.

 

and that someone was very, very familiar.

 

"miss sena, is that you?" she cursed under her breath, afraid to fully turn around to face the blue-haired acquaintance. 

 

"uh yeah hi jungwoo," she greeted back, almost too monotone and flat to be fetching and friendly. 

 

taeil looks cautiously between the two, his eyes darting from sena and jungwoo for a little while before he honed in on the male, "you _know_ sena?" 

 

"yup!" the joyous tone which jungwoo held drove sena somewhat guilty as she shuffled in her spot to (seemingly) engage herself in the three-way conversation. "she came to the cage for a visit with johnny yesterday."

 

she knew it,

 

they all knew each other.

 

practically, sena knew johnny first (and foremost), from her secondary schooling, in which the male practically shoved himself into her life, as if a six feet (plus plus) full grown adult was trying to squeeze himself into a children's tea party chair. and then, when sena graduated and was trying to find a rather cheap apartment to rent in whilst being relatively close to her current job, johnny recommended this place...

 

which was in turn,

 

was suggested by johnny's _other_ friend,

 

_lee taeil._

 

and she should've known by the cues by now that johnny's friendship circle was rather large (in comparison to her measly one which mainly consisted of johnny... and ten (the pause was because she only knew ten because of johnny-- and she realised how much of a sore ~~loser~~ loner she was)).

 

and she should have known by the way jungwoo brazenly opened up the rooms inside the cages for her to see. 

 

word travels fast about the cage,

 

and sena knows how limited public interactions between hybrids and visitors are if they do not pay upfront fees (aka a guarantee that they would take someone home).

 

it was mainly to stop human diseases and their products to become _'less attractive'_ to the viewers' eyes.

 

the more restriction is placed on something,

 

the more desirable it is to someone.

 

it was purely a marketing technique.

 

"are you planning to get one?" taeil genuinely beams at this, leaning slightly forward towards sena's direction (and she swore she blushed a tiny bit). his jet black locks were heaved upwards into a semi-up style with a few strands falling over his exquisite forehead (there was no pimples or anything, and sena dreaded over his flawless skin). the parting was more like a 7:3, and sena could almost feel her fingers tingling to initiate some kind of touch.

 

she breaths in through her nose and out through her mouth-- 

 

a tranquil way of meditating in her opinion.

 

she just didn't account the attention drawn from both males onto her. 

 

"uh," she didn't really know what to say. 

 

so in pure, primitive instincts, 

 

she lied,

 

_"yes."_

 


	8. rags or riches

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> johnny's a (rich) ass.

 

sena could swear she was banging her head onto the seat in front of her as she took public transport to johnny's apartment. it wasn't quite fast but she saves a lot of time by using the bus instead of walking (and efficiency was really the key in today's society). 

 

if you ever ask her why she wouldn't learn how to drive,

 

it was because:

 

a) sena was _broke_ (aka she can't afford a car);

 

b) she will _kill_ herself.

 

and so, 

 

sena herself deemed it to be a foul choice to make if she did go through with her learner's permit and ends up having a license.

 

(and what in the bloody name of mary is with the tuition prices for learning how to drive?

 

like?

 

are we paying in gold or--)

 

it literally took her two minutes to get to the stop in front of johnny's apartment. it was quite a charmer with its architectural glamour,

 

showcasing a typical home for the rich.

 

oh yeah,

 

aside from having tons of friends and connections,

 

johnny has **_deep_** pockets.

 

_(hence why,_

 

he offered to pay for her hybrid.)

 

damn fate and its cruel and irresponsible allocations.

 

\---

 

the admin on the front desk knows sena way too well for her liking. the lady took one look at her before letting her through the security doors (because rich people don't quite like getting mugged), and off she went, a duplicate key of johnny's apartment at hand (she always has it with the rest of her keys just in case she needs to barge into his house for one reason or another).

 

_beep beep._

 

 

**from: kim jungwoo**

**to: jung sena**

 

**Hello Sena,**

 

**This is Jungwoo. I got your number from Taeil and was wondering when you'd like to come in for the hybrid you chose yesterday. His code is #140297 by the way, in case I'm not there when you do visit.**

 

**Hope you're having a great day so far,**

 

**Jungwoo :)**

 

 

she couldn't remember the last time she saw someone writing with capitals (and so formally, that is) when texting. her main source of distress (aka messages) mainly comes from johnny--

 

and oh boy,

 

was it distress.

 

the male would mainly text in abbreviated sequences and passages of letters which sena have to heavily decode (by searching on google), before adding that to her list of acronyms.

 

and by the way,

 

since when did she _choose_ a hybrid?

 

in the end,

 

she chose to postpone (ignore) jungwoo's rather courteous message.

 

\---

 

"oh my god, sena!" 

 

the first thing she was entitled to,

 

the moment she steps a foot into johnny's apartment,

 

was to crushed in the arms of a rather vivacious leopard. 

 

"hi ten," she pats his back rather endearingly, having an evident soft spot for the said hybrid.

 

ten was a cute one.

 

he had stock short hair, naturally bleached with silver, and a mischievous personality to boot. she knew the hybrid had a thing for glamour, and had various piercings under his wing. 

 

as you can tell by now,

 

sena doesn't really advocate the whole hybrid thing--

 

but that doesn't mean she detested them.

 

she found comfort in familiar ones such as ten and was more than at ease when interacting with such beings.

 

"i haven't seen you in ages!" he continued to swing her to and from, having a larger built than her.

 

and addressing sena's height, (and why she has to jump to put johnny into a headlock,) she was not the most stretched out being in the whole planet. johnny likes to joke that she was under 160cm, 

 

when in reality,

 

she's **_161_**.

 

 _big_ difference.

 

ten was around ten centimetres taller than her, 

 

and johnny was basically a tower.

 

"if by ages you mean four days, then yes ten, you haven't." sena wiggles out of his grip, to playfully glance him up and down. "and i see you haven't changed in the _four_ _days_ we didn't meet."

 

the hybrid rolls his eyes at her sarcasm before entertaining her in return.

 

"i see that your _sarcastic ass_ is still the same."

 

they were good friends.

 

\---

 

ten continued conversing about the most mundane things to sena whilst she threw in her own anecdotes in return. like how johnny forgot to lock the door and how the hybrid has to practically check every single day after that for him; how the blinds had to be dusted or replaced because it was giving ten a runny nose at times; and how johnny was an ignorant ass who wouldn't uphold his end of the deal in terms of household chores.

 

"-he's just so fucking lazy!" ten complained.

 

and johnny had immaculate timing as he came out of the shower bearing great news (whilst totally ignoring the last thing he just heard) (he knew it was about him). 

 

"so someone's being a good sport and taking relatively smart actions," he paused, before adding, "except for ignoring poor jeus."

 

"who's jeus?"

 

"jungwoo."

 

\---

 

that's it.

 

sena hated johnny and his tight knit boy scout friends.

 

aside from feeling a pang of guilt, which was then freed by her interrogating him on why they acted like strangers when they met, sena was dumbfounded with his reply.

 

"we didn't. you just didn't notice but jungwoo and i were chatting about having a playdate for lucas and ten. and lucas was trying to scare me fyi."

 

so that's why they were so friendly to each other.

 

"how about jungwoo's greeting then?"

 

"it's standard protocol sena. you _never know_ who's going to come."

 


	9. truth or dare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> sena's bad at telling the truth (and lying).

 

" _so exactly,_ when are you planning to reply to jeus?" johnny questions in a casual manner as they sat at the dinner table, eating servings of ten's favourite cuisine: thai.

 

the leopard was practically licking his bowl by the seconds and sena reached over to wipe at the corner of his lips by pure instincts (she has a lot of them).

 

"tomorrow," sena drawls, not really matching's johnny's line of sight. "i'll do it tomorrow," she repeated, as if she was trying to convince herself.

 

to this, the male scoffs. 

 

"you're not going to, are you?"

 

he practically knows her better than she does herself.

 

" _maybe_."

 

by the corner of her eyes, she sees ten rubbing at his eyes, trying to get rid of a wildin' strand of eyelash, which inadvertently was poking into the thing it was supposed to protecc. she leaned over to clear him of his rubbing actions before proceeding to blow softly, just enough to remove the hindrance.

 

"there," she patted at his head, "all good."

 

"thanks sena," ten says with a smile, before proceed to help himself with a second serving. "you're almost like my mum." he comments while licking the splatter of sauce on his hand.

 

"what's with the _almost_?" she says, not quite offended or appreciative of the comment.

 

"my mum's probably mated to my dad. and you're not." 

 

johnny snickers at the comment, scooping a bit of rice and a good smidgen of thai curry.

 

ten glances at johnny for a second in a thoughtful manner. "but johnny's my legal guardian... so he's kind of my dad... and i see you often... and you're sort of like my mum... but me and johnny do naughty things together... so that makes this complicated."

 

sena drops her spoon at the theory and would rather throw her plate at johnny bursting into total laughter,

 

most probably high on adrenaline. 

 

\---

 

"you should reply to jungwoo."

 

says johnny,

 

for the millionth time that day.

 

sena should've thrown her plate of curry. 

 

she knew it. 

 

_"and a little birdie told me you have a thing for taeil."_

 

if someone don't bring her a whole pot of steaming thai curry, 

 

she's just about to lose it.

 

\---

 

"okay," sena exhales, in a painfully loud manner, "who told you."

 

johnny was casually housing a slumbering ten in his arm as the hybrid snuggled into his owner for comfort. 

 

thankfully,

 

johnny would never lie to sena. 

 

(unlike sena herself.)

 

"jungwoo's very good at reading people. that's why the government hired him to work at the cage." he stroke at ten's fluffy locks, eyes full of amusement. "he say you were getting pretty red and was literally staring into taeil's eyes like ' _you were about to kiss him'_ \-- his words, not mine." johnny clarified, "and jungwoo didn't know you lived beside taeil by the way. he was there to check on winwin." johnny stills for a second, as if the mechanics in his head was finally clicking in place.

 

sena wished he was actually dumb instead.

 

and like,

 

not smart.

 

"and you're in a bad mood because... taeil bought home a hybrid... a..." he knew, 

 

but johnny saved her a little by not mentioning the actual cause of her romantic depression.

 

the girl literally whacked her head into the comfort of her palms before exhaling deeply.

 

_"please stop talking."_

 


	10. yes or no

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> sena's a pro-gamer.

 

aside from playing games on the gaming console, and drilling the basic etiquette of house-sharing to johnny, both the owner and the snow leopard retreated to the master room,

 

leaving sena to her own accords in ten's ( _technically_ _unused_ ) room. she didn't know how long it has been since the hybrid had slept in his own chambers-- but judging from how neatly the sheets were made-- she figured it had been quite some time.

 

ten's room was rather loud in it's coloristic choices and placement of objects. it was almost a bold fashion statement to sena's eyes,

 

and she had to avoid that creepy life-size statue of a snow leopard in one dampen corner of the room.

 

she was just about to settle into bed, having finished her hygienic routine, before an alarming noise sent her to a rather spooked out mode.

 

beep beep.

 

 

**from: kim jungwoo**

**to: jung sena**

 

**Good Evening Sena,**

 

**I do apologise for sending you a second message today... but I have bad news to bear.**

 

**Another person is interested.**

 

**Please give me a ring or a text back if you're still keen on getting him.**

 

**Sincerely,**

 

**Jungwoo**

 

 

thank goodness sena was done with her cup of water before bed--

 

because she's almost delirious with what to do with her own personal reaction. 

 

(she would've _spat_ all the water back out.)

 

ever since the visit,

 

she knew she was just dwelling on time whilst leaving even the slightest thoughts of having a hybrid far back in the pits of her mind.

 

it goes against all her moral grounds to just go up there, spend johnny's money, and purchase the hybrid in mind.

 

but when she thinks back to those innocent pair of warm, chocolate orbs staring right back at her-- and the possibility of never being able to see him ever again because another person owns him (and she would most probably be unable to see him (unless johnny purchases him (that'll be an entirely different story altogether))).

 

she sighs and places her phone down,

 

opting to ambush her best friend's sleep.

 

\---

 

heavy footsteps accompanied her as she approached the door to johnny's room,

 

almost regretting the moment she placed her knuckle onto the luxurious surface (didn't seem like a regular wooden door to her). 

 

there was a bit of a shuffle, slight mumbles (she figured it was ten), and the door opens up before her,

 

revealing johnny with no shirt on,

 

and a sleepy ten poking out of the sheets.

 

"uh," sena drawls, eyes scanning between the two, "is this not a good time to talk?"

 

"if you mean if it's alright to enter a room with two horny guys at midnight," the male grins, "then yeah."

 

she hits his chest (hard), before sprinting onto the bed to give ten a shy cuddle. not really to her surprise, johnny stumbles a few steps back as he groans at the impact, whining. 

 

"did you have to hit me?" he trails towards the bed, rubbing at the aching spot, not really receiving an answer from the person in question. 

 

"before you even try to explain," johnny slips back underneath the covers, wrapping a familiar arm around ten, "jeus told me ahead of messaging you."

 

"i'm just confused."

 

"you know, to me," he stations a pause every two words, placing dire emphasis on his opinion, "you do want to house him." he studies her perplexed expression for a second, propping an arm underneath his head for support, "if it's about the money--"

 

"no," sena breaths out, tucked under the crook of ten's neck, 

 

_"it's just me."_

 

\---

 

in the end, johnny gave jungwoo a call (at such an ungodly hour) (but remember, jungwoo works night shifts at the cage) to sort out some arrangements for a second visit. 

 

sena was wildly indecisive,

 

and it was putting her on the edge.

 

honestly,

 

she was usually a very resolute person-- with a strong mind attached.

 

but these kinds of things:

 

 _need_ vs **want** ,

 

really drove her to the edge of her mental capacity.

 

she knows what's _right and wrong_ for her...

 

but why does she want to be in the **wrong** this time?

 


	11. right or wrong

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> jungwoo's oddly convincing (enough).

 

sena whines against the window of johnny's car as she watched the city darkening into a more barren state. the amount of trees increased by the second, and the road turned much into isolation without the pretence of irritated, honking office workers at such early mornings. 

 

johnny was casually sipping on his jet-black 500ml tumbler, most probably having his fair share of a morning americano. 

 

"you sound like ten when we go home from somewhere," he tries to make a witty comment, knowing how soft sena gets in reference to the leopard hybrid.

 

"i'm having a midlife crisis here," she half-weeps into her palms, already regretting her choices.

 

johnny's face twists into part amusement as he shrugs and continues to keep his eyes on the road. 

 

( _not_ that he was swerving in the first place.)

 

"think of it as an early birthday present from me," johnny says, "you don't really have a choice but to accept it, do you?"

 

"but it's not," sena grumbles, lamenting his trials in trying to ease her devastated self (because he was being such a good friend, and she's being a terrible one), "and you would get me something else in the end anyways."

 

" _that could be from ten_?" 

 

the male tried. 

 

(enough.)

 

\---

 

the moment they stepped out of the vehicle, sena felt the rush of crisp, frosty air hitting against her complexion, sending an array of locks to obstruct her line of view, 

 

tumbling as she tried to enter the center.

 

johnny only laughs at her as he sees her miss a step, barely catching herself.

 

but being the semi-gentleman he was,

 

he held the door open for her.

 

"guys!" came jungwoo's gleeful voice, first thing when they came in. 

 

lucas was stationed right next to him, eyes droopy. 

 

(he probably lacked sleep.)

 

( _maybe_ that's why he didn't even try to prank them this time around.)

 

_(thank god.)_

 

"hey jeus," johnny greeted, unlike the previous time they came.

 

"hello youngho," and then he turns to the female, "and sena."

 

"i'm sorry that i failed to respond to your messages..." sena trails off, "twice." the end part was barely audieble.

 

jungwoo broke into a wide grin as he heartily accepted her apology without the bat of an eye. "johnny told me about your situation," he then added, "and your inability to reply to messages whilst leaving other people on read."

 

sena elbows johnny in reflex whilst reddening a bit.

 

"anyways," jungwoo grabs a folder, "we should probably do the paperworks now." he presented sena with a pen and an unfilled document. "i may have stalled some time... but the guy who wanted the same hybrid wasn't so convinced that he was sold." he then rushes to grab a set of keys, "i kind of told him that you've already bought him and that he would like to see the official paperwork. but that's illegal without the consent of the actual owner... and he's sort of coming back today to see you."

 

"wow," johnny whistles, "this guy's keen."

 

jungwoo rolls his eyes in a displeased manner, recalling the events from last night. " _very_."

 

sena feels troubled in more than one way. 

 

**number one:**

 

she brought so much trouble for both johnny and jungwoo.

 

**number two:**

 

_she has no choice._

 

sena grabs the folder from jungwoo, glancing at the more ordinary details (such as name and address), before gradually filling it all out.

 

johnny places a hand over her's.

 

"i know i have been urging you to get him... but i don't really want you to hate me after this." he locks his eyes onto her's. "you're okay with this... _are you_?"

 

sena gulps as she's faced with the final judgment. 

 

she's a grown ass woman (even though she may not act like it) (who the hell has qualifications in being an adult anyway) ( _no_ _one_ ), who knows what's wrong and right.

 

but being wrong may be the right thing to do for once.

 

" _yes_."

 

\---

 

maybe it was because she desperately need a companion to get rid of taeil and her heartbreak once and for all.

 

maybe it was because she hated being alone in the dark.

 

maybe it was because she wanted to break the rules (not really) like everyone else.

 

maybe it was because sena's tired of having the exact same routine,

 

every single day of the year.

 

...

 

maybe because she was _jealous_ of people with partners.

 


	12. stinkers or suckers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> rude people are rude (duhh).

 

sena drags her feet as she trailed behind a hyperactive (slashed revived) lucas,

 

 who was extremely elated that she was taking someone home.

 

(apparently he's always like this.)

 

and whilst he was hyped about his friend finding a forever home, lucas was also bugging her to let him come over to play. 

 

"i'm good boy!" he proves, tapping on his chest, "i play nice!"

 

sena smiles a little at his antics, somewhat easing her way out of her very own nerves, noticing how jungwoo and johnny were sending her some positive vibes from their position (which was behind her). 

 

before she knows it,

 

she's standing right in front of the cage she was in...

 

a couple of odd days ago.

 

once again,

 

the tiger hybrid was nowhere in sight and all she could see was a smaller lump (compared to her memory) underneath a neutral coloured blanket. 

 

"this is it," jungwoo declares as he unlocks the room, crossing the glass layer before the blanket flies up and a male with lovely (soft-looking) brown locks, not too short or long, with the most fascinating eyes and the nicest pair of lips sena has ever laid her eyes on (not that she was focusing on that), appeared.

 

he seemed slightly anticipative,

 

lips forced away from a smile and figure standing up to greet the trail of guests making their way into his humble space.

 

"hey," jungwoo calls out, tapping the hybrid on the shoulder, 

 

"you remember sena right?"

 

the white tiger, with the most endearing pair of ears sticking up from his locks, and a tail swishing about in the background, nodded once as he focused his view onto sena.

 

"well," jungwoo presents another genuine smile, "she's here to take you home."

 

\---

 

they went back to the front desk to greet the other pesky individual who was interested in the same hybrid (who has yet to arrive), with sena finishing off the last of her signatures, having jungwoo as witness to the said transaction.

 

the hybrid who was now technically hers was seated in one of the white chairs, 

 

next to a johnny who was going through his phone in a disinterested manner.

 

the only sounds available for their ears were the constant ticking of the clock and sena's fingers which was busy whisking away to complete the final stages of her form.

 

she hands over the file to jungwoo for a last check before the male processes it all through, lucas bobbing up and down by his side. 

 

"all good," jungwoo announced, stapling something with the papers, sending sena into a rather inquisitive state.

 

"what about the payments?"

 

he glances up with a rather stunned expression. 

 

"i thought you already knew that johnny paid beforehand."

 

sena whips back to see johnny raising one hand up, doing little waving motions at her whilst his eyes was still trained onto his phone, a frisky grin dancing on his lips.

 

sena was about to roll her eyes at him (despite the male not seeing), before halting on her tracks as she caught the stare of another person:

 

 _her_ hybrid.

 

her head was above the clouds as she kept her eyes on him, only snapping out when she realises the possessive personal pronoun attached.

 

she immediately whipped her head back to jungwoo (who obviously knew she was staring), trying to keep her head low as she played with her side fringe.

 

"sena?"

 

she glances up to see a rather mischievous expression on the blue locks' face.

 

"you're blushing."

 

 _ugh_ ,

 

not _this_ again.

 

\---

 

with the chime of the front door, indicating someone has arrived, 

 

all four heads focused their attention to a rather poshly dressed male, obviously of high affluence as he strode towards jungwoo, casting an unreadable gaze to the tiger hybrid sitting beside sena.

 

" _where?_ "

 

it was more like a statement than a question as jungwoo showed sena's signature on the last page (with the date altered to a week before for good measures).

 

he casts a stink eye towards their general direction. 

 

"i've got five beautiful hybrids at home. what do you think a bunch of kinds can do to give them the best treatment?" he scoffs, body language pronouncing his terrible overall attitude, elbows on top of sena's finalised papers.

 

"unfortunately we cannot do anything once the purchase is sighed off, good sir." jungwoo was strict with his tone,

 

unlike anything sena's heard from him before. 

 

(but mind you,

 

sena's just beginning to know the said male.)

 

she spots lucas growling at the male, eyes showcasing his protectiveness of his owner, who had to place an arm in front of his taller frame, preventing the hybrid to pounce at the arrogant competitor.

 

ignoring jungwoo's statement, the male, who looked somewhere in his fourties, approached sena and johnny's position. 

 

"which one of you is it?" 

 

his tone was sharp and cold.

 

johnny was about to stand up to represent sena when she beats him to the chase and stood proudly against her impudent opponent. 

 

the man scans sena up and down (almost checking her out), before he proceeds to point quite harshly at her shoulder. " _you_?" he pushes on the skin, literally jabbing it. 

 

the worst thing about this was that sena bruises like a peach,

 

and her skin is literally painted with red when she scratches her back during a shower. 

 

the tone that came with it was borderline assault,

 

and she's sort of frightened at the sudden contact.

 

was this sexual harassment, or?

 

she's about to push him away and shout all over his pitiful features about showing respect to someone you just meet when a hand stops the man from doing a second jab at sena's reasonably smaller frame,

 

a snarl accompanying the action.

 

" _off_."

 

it was the first time sena heard his voice.

 

it had a low timbre to it. like a pleasant breeze across the base of a grass field. it was heavy with a vicious threat, and sena's eyes could only hone in on his now unmoving lips whilst both parties froze at the hybrid's sudden outburst.

 

the man was first to move.

 

he quickly shook off the tight grip. tending to the redness swelling upon his skin. he scoffs at the thought (most probably of a hybrid going against a human) (which in his mind,

 

was probably more superior than the other species). 

 

"forget it," he suddenly declared, dusting off his hands whilst sending a stick eye at sena and co, "i wouldn't want such an ill-behaved _thing_ inside my residence."

 

and bad things too,

 

shall _pass_.

 


	13. letters or lovebirds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> sena's hardly ever creative enough.

 

"glad that was over," jungwoo sighed as he consoled a grumpy lucas. 

 

the lion hybrid was upset that his owner wouldn't let him land a scratch or two to the rather rude patron's complexion. jungwoo had to reassure him that it was not needed and that there would be a big issue if he ever did so. they did continue to bicker a little longer than that, arguing about the proper etiquettes jungwoo taught the hybrid and that he should be treating everyone with the equality and care. no matter if they returned the gesture or not. 

 

the hybrid doesn't take this too positively,

 

being egged on by his sense of beastly pride and a rather proprietorial nature, 

 

lucas couldn't help but to deflect teachings which goes against his natural instincts.

 

he HAS to protect jungwoo.

 

it's not part of a hybrid's nature to harbour such solicitous disposition against their owners. most hybrids, though never seen exposing their deepest thoughts, are very mild and can sometimes have negative association in regards to their possessor. 

 

lucas was not like that.

 

he deeply and truly adored jungwoo. 

 

anyone could see that.

 

loyalty differs from hybrid to hybrid. but you can roughly estimate their temperament through their biological sub-species. 

 

lucas was of a lion heritage:

 

that meant that he upholds dignity and is often very defensive against his pack. 

 

which in current terms relates to jungwoo,

 

his ' _pillar_ '.

 

"can't believe that geezer assumes he can give hybrids the ' _best_ ' treatment," the mop of blue mocks as he dismissed traces of irregularities due to the previous round of tornado, eyeing the trio by the waiting seats, "he needs to address his attitude issues first."

 

johnny,

 

who had been rather reserved for a while now (it was not part of his characteristics AT ALL),

 

played a slack, complacent smirk as he leaned back into the cushions, fingertips touching each other to form a rough triangle. 

 

"yeah," he agreed, not even bothering to adjust his body language to the person he's about to infer to,

 

" _at least you can give him a good fuck right?_ the old man's probably panting after one round."

 

jungwoo chokes on air (more like he gags), and sena's about to throw her invisible pen at the indecent best friend. 

 

the tiger's ears are red.

 

(but no one notices.)

 

\---

 

they're about to leave when jungwoo stops, expression thrilled of some kind of universal conspiracy questions he's about to ask.

 

"so what's his name?"

 

sena stops. 

 

she swivels to face him, eyes rounded and wide, slightly taken aback by the rather simple query.

 

like,

 

everyone has to have a name right?

 

"...uhhhhh, he doesn't have a name?"

 

she's out of date.

 

the rather rapid deterioration in the brightness of jungwoo's expression caused a rather concerned reaction as sena glances at johnny,

 

 _unsure_.

 

jungwoo sweeps a hand back, letting his locks fall and rearrange themselves on his forehead. he's a little sweaty and maybe even slightly feverish due to the over-circulation of heat within the room. the weather had been looking down lately and all sena knows is that the city structures were not letting any of that do them harm. heaters were constantly cranked up where she worked and the cage was no different.

 

"hybrids here aren't allowed to be named." lucas nods along to this, "i go by their codes and," he leans in across the desk, "i make up little nicknames when it's just me and lucas here."

 

sena catches a glimpse of the rather impartial tiger, his facial muscles relaxed without any kind of tension. there was no apparent expression before his gaze casts itself downwards, signalling the fact that he thoroughly noticed her rather apparent stare. 

 

"do you have a name in mind?" 

 

the bengal hybrid denies and refuses the offer with the shake of the head, his fluffy hair bouncing along with the action.

 

johnny was the one to pitch in instead, 

 

"let's go with jeffrey," he kept a keen eye on the hybrid, "he looks like one."

 

to this,

 

the individual to be named lets out a light growl-- not enough to be potent-- just sufficient to alert the humans of his dissatisfaction. 

 

jungwoo sniggers at the reaction triggered, "i don't think he likes it very much."

 

sena's out cold for a few seconds. 

 

_(not literally.)_

 

her mind's in a frenzy on what she could possibly designate the hybrid with. honestly, she would be a terrible mother due to the fact that her kids would more than likely despise the names she was about to cast them. she thought the hybrid would do too. 

 

and so,

 

she's engaged in an internal, mental fight against humanities' substandard expectations of reputable (yet distinct) naming cues. 

 

she's about to lose it after racking through her brain like a pile of autumn leaves. 

 

(her thoughts weren't _that_ _deep_ ,

 

mind you.)

 

"how about... **_jaehyun_**?"

 

the white bengal tiger sneaks a look at his possessor, eyes twinkling of something rather peculiar. 

 

it sent sena's heart into a loop of intensifying hormonal fluctuations-- and she's about to lose it if the corner of his lips grew any taller. 

 

it was rather hurried but hopeful,

 

" _jung_ _jaehyun_?"

 

johnny snorts in the background, leaning against jungwoo's desk as lucas glomps his owner in a rather light backhug, 

 

" _lovebirds_."

 


	14. tack or tide

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> jaehyun is so pure it drives sena mad.

 

droplets of water splashed onto the transparent, glassy quality of johnny's rather exorbitant automobile. thinking about the pricing of the ride she was currently on made her head turn round at the number of zeros places after the amount. (she knew she would never be able to earn such tremendous amount (not even if she worked herself to death.))

 

(she tried not to think of these kind of stuff.)

 

(but her brain tries to anyway.)

 

johnny's pop radio buzzes louder than usual, drowning the silence of the trio (who really had nothing much to converse about). 

 

johnny was making mindless taps on his wheel (as per usual), eyes trained on the road. he didn't say much to sena who was sitting next to him, somewhat zoning out to avoid the rather thick silence sugar-coating the odd atmosphere. 

 

 _jaehyun_ , the name sena picked for the white bengal hybrid, had his head turned to the left, relieving the sight of city streets and the dazzling evening light, unmoving. he didn't know when was the last time he'd ever since such scenery (or if he had ever (hybrids are usually raised in centers from birth, only ever going out to be transferred from one center to another)), but the adrenaline and palpations rallying up his racing heart beat him over one of the most life-changing moments of his life. 

 

it was so beautiful,

 

he _would have_ cried (if he _really_ tried).

 

but he didn't.

 

opting to showcase a rather detached persona in front of his new owner. 

 

he glances a tiny bit at her,

 

watching as she chatted a little with the male on her right, eyes seizing to separate them in two,

 

as if they were two separate pictures.

 

he was _slightly_ unbothered by the interaction and was _definitely_ **not** jealous at all. 

 

_not as if he fell for her at first sight._

 

shifting his head to the right, he sighed into his palm (though inaudibly). 

 

yup.

 

**_not_ ** _the case._

 

\---

 

"here we are _lovebirds_ ," he avoids sena's bag, which was swinging around to get him. the rather anxious chuckle which trailed afterwards, as a shady peace treaty, broke the echoing silence which ensued afterwards, letting nothingness trail into the metal compartment. 

 

"you're such a dic-" sena stops three quarters through, eyes shifting at her hybrid, before casting her gaze back to johnny, "tell ten i said hi dearest johnny." 

 

her tone was hilariously feminine--

 

and johnny almost lapped himself away into the luxuriously meme material.

 

( _honestly_ ,

 

he wasn't used to sena trying to proper herself.)

 

"yeah sure princess," he cooes, ruffling the tops of her head in a rather affectionate manner, grinning at the low growl which ensued from the backseat. "goodnight and maybe i'll visit tomorrow with ten."

 

sena's halfway out when she swivels to face him with sharp eyes,

 

"after work."

 

the male beams from ear to ear, nodding mindlessly, "whatever floats your boat."

 

when sena spins on her heels to pinch jaehyun from the backseat, she sees him out of the car and was dangerously close to her position. if she spun a little bit more, she would have crashed into his chest and would have made tonight a bit more awkward than this insanity. 

 

"did you grab your things?" she made small talk, knowing that johnny's probably giggling from his position.

 

"yes," jaehyun showed her the lone backpack on his shoulders, filled with the very bare essentials which the cage supplied him with.

 

nodding, sena sent johnny a wave as he sped along the night, returning to his own home (and ten).

 

they entered the apartment complex, with sena tapping her resident keycard and leading the hybrid into the elevator. 

 

"have you been on one?" she asks, fiddling with her straps as they waited for her floor.

 

"an elevator...?" jaehyun trails off, glancing around, "sort of."

 

"i thought this was a yes or a no question," she let out a light-hearted tease.

 

though the bengal tinger's sensitive ears disagreed with the supposedly attached connotations. 

 

the hybrid's eyes flattens itself out as he casted her a perturbed gaze, pupils almost shaking at the reply. "i-i'm sorry," his voice trembles, "i have been on one," he then hastens to come up with an explanation, "most probably when i was very young."

 

sena literally throws her head onto the panel of buttons in front of her,  jaehyun slightly jumps at the noise. 

 

"i didn't mean to scare you," she says softly, cursing herself out for being the biggest idiot alive, "i tend to joke around a lot-- i won't do it again-- i'm sorry." she whispers the last part (though she's affirmative that jaehyun caught it).

 

the hybrid shakes his head in a hurry, "no-- please keep on doing so." he squares his shoulders at her, "i promise i'll try and read the mood better."

 

his eyes were sparkling at her like jewels in the sand, washing over her like tidings over and over again. she's almost lost in the soft browns of his iris, seeing herself getting sucked into the endless depth of his pupils. 

 

the elevator dings,

 

signalling them of their arrival.

 

and sena almost made a run home. 

 

(she's just _highly, extremely,_ _very_ _,_ ** _super_** embarrassed.)

 


	15. fast or foodies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> home is where the heart is.

 

jaehyun’s rather amazed by the interior of sena’s humble home. his eyes scanned the entirety of the space with buried excitement, watching his forever home. he tries to take in every single detail, the emotions which came with this day, and sena’s scurrying form, watching as she picked up a few article of clothing. the apartment was made up of a small living room, attached to the kitchen and the dining room squished into a corner. the colours which he recalled was mainly of white and beige, eliciting a rather clean outlook. there was a bookcase near the couch and two other doors— one presumably being the bathroom while the other was her bedroom.

 

he stands still while sena comes out of her very own bedroom, looking rather stunned. 

 

“i don’t have a second bed,” she publicised, almost squeaking. “oh my god why do i never think things through!” taking hasty steps towards her fridge, she pulls open the door to find it rather barren, stretching her body to glance at jaehyun who shuffled right beside the door, looking very out of place. 

 

her heart literally melted into a puddle.

 

he was waiting for a command.

 

she hated how domesticated he was. afraid to make any kind of miniature mistakes.

 

“jaehyun,” she calls out, gathering the fondest smile she could muster, “you can take your shoes off and slide it into the rack next to it. we’ll have to buy you some slippers tomorrow,” she takes another shy peek at the insides of her fridge, “do you have any allergies or food you don’t particularly like by the way?”

 

jaehyun does as he’s told, quickly facing her afterwards, “not at all,” he then adds, “i like everything.”

 

she beckons him to come, not forgetting to let him know that he can sit anywhere and that it’s okay to put his bag down. “you’re literally free to do anything here,” sena whips out some chicken breast and vegetables to make a stew, “other than jumping out the window because you’re sick of me,” she exaggerates her tone a little, making sure the poor boy understands that she’s making a joke this time.

 

jaehyun laughs nervously at this, “i won’t.” he promised, fiddling with his fingers. 

 

she then tosses the meat along with onion and garlic for a bit, making sure it’s thoroughly cooked before filling the pot with packeted broth and placing in the vegetables afterwards. “can you tell me what they’ve given you in the bag?” she reddens slightly at the thought, “i forgot what jungwoo told me.”

 

the hybrid opens the zipper to his plain black bag, pulling out the items one by one whilst informing his owner of the contents. 

 

“a change of clothes, toothpaste, toothbrush, soap, shampoo…” he hesitates to continue, “and um, underwear.”

 

sena chokes on air.

 

“d-did they not give you any pajamas?” she tries to change the subject, an awkward laughter accompanying the question.

 

“no,” jaehyun checks the empty bag once again.

 

“i think i have one of ten’s from his last sleepover,” she recalls back, talking to no one in particular.

 

dinner was served quietly as jaehyun placed his belongings back into the bag and helps sena set the table with the plate and cutlery (he seems somewhat used to doing it). 

 

“i’ve heard from ten that you guys take lessons inside the center,” sena spoons him large amounts of stew into his place, making sure she doesn’t spill any onto the table.

 

jaehyun nods in affirmation, “we do.”

 

(he then figures that this ‘ _ten_ ’ guy sena’s been talking about is probably a hybrid.)

 

(and he sort of decuded that he belongs to johnny from sena’s goodbye message earlier on.)

 

“what was your favourite?”

 

“first-aid and home etiquettes,” he glances at sena, wondering when he’s allowed to eat.

 

sena almost writhers in pain when she clarifies, “you can e— there’s no need for permissions in this house— i’d like it if we can treat each other as equals.”

 

jaehyun shuffles in his seat, evidently disturbed, “i’m sorry. this is kind of different from what i’ve been taught.”

 

she was about to come at jungwoo with a hammer.

 

“is jungwoo mean?” 

 

the hybrid shakes his head violently at the question. “no— he treats me very nicely. he doesn’t teach any of us. we have tutors who come in every so often.”

 

“okay then,” sena loosens the grip on her spoon, “if you say so.”

 

she’s a bit skeptical. 

 

but the tensed look on jaehyun’s face softened her expression. “do you like him?” jaehyun glances up to reply, “jungwoo i mean?”

 

the hybrid scratches his cheeks for a second, lost in thought before eyeing sena from his rather slouched form, accentuating the form of his eyes.

 

_“i like you more.”_

 

sena could kiss almost everyone she sees in that split second.

 

\---

 

jaehyun had insisted on washing the dishes whilst sena had to fight (terribly because she just simply could never resist his eyes). and they settle for it when jaehyun mentions that she probably has better things to do. this sets her back because she probably needed to do something about his sleeping arrangement and sorting out his pajamas (aka she needs to dig through her closet to find ten’s long lost pair). 

 

“i’m doing it next time!” she calls out whilst speeding for her bedroom, nothing bothering to close the door.

 

jaehyun does the work efficiently, double checking to make sure that the plates and spoon was absolutely spotless before he placed them on the drying rack.

 

he does the same for the pot, unable to contain the fond memories he had for the taste. 

 

it was so good.

 

definitely better than the plain, mushy foods they served at the cage. 

 

he doesn’t get chicken very often and was more than ecstatic to devour it. 

 

(though he doesn’t show it.)

 

_(as per usual.)_

 

\---

 

sena finds him with a long, checkered pajamas. it was black and blue and jaehyun took a short whiff, noticing the dull scent of another hybrid along with the strong smell of laundry detergent. 

 

“do you think it fits you?” she eyes jaehyun’s height, very sure that ten was nowhere as tall or broad shouldered as the hybrid. 

 

the male was a bit concerned about it, not wanting to ruin the clothing if it was not a perfect fit. “i’m… i’m not quite sure.” he disclosed, unfolding the pair. _“i-i can try?”_

 

sena was so sure it won’t fit him by this stage, seeing as to how much smaller it was when the hybrid held the top against his chest. “this isn’t going to work,” she showed her palm, asking for it back.

 

jaehyun nods in affirmation, completely agreeing with her. he almost hands back the pajamas when he noticed a thin, red line on her palm. “are you hurt?” he points to the injury.

 

sena draws her sleeve over it, almost embarrassed over the wound. “i’m fine now.” she receives the bundle, placing it on the side. “why don’t you take a bath while i go get you some pajamas to wear?” she offers an (attempted) consoling smile, “the towels are on the rack beside the sink and you have your own toothbrush— you can use my toothpaste if you’d like—“ she adds, “and soap and shampoo.”

 

jaehyun bobs his head, signalling his understanding.

 

“actually,” she turns to him with a much more genuine smile (it was almost teasing), “if you hesitate on doing something, the answer is a yes. you can do it. and you don’t need my permission!” she pats his shoulder whilst making eye contact, “listen jae,” she’s already ahead of herself with the sense of familiarity (but that was how she was programmed to live), “we only have one rule in this house.”

 

jaehyun leans in closer to pay close attention to her directives, not wanting to miss such an important piece of detail.

 

she tiptoes to reach his flushed ears, whispering, almost sadistic with the way she enjoyed his miniature squirming,

 

_“there is none. you can do whatever you’d like.”_

 

sena drops back down by the bounce of her heels, watching in satisfaction as jaehyun stares back at her with puzzled eyes, unable to comprehend her message.

 

like,

 

_what’s a hybrid supposed to do with so much freedom?_

 

\---

 

sena’s happiness disappeared the moment she stepped a single foot out her door, already deeming her thought processes as defective. 

 

she was about to fetch some clothes from the same person who hurt her. (literally.)

 

no way was moon taeil of jaehyun’s frame. she should have asked johnny to bring her a pair of pajamas but seeing as to how late it was— she didn’t particularly enjoy waking her best friend up for two nights in a row— their friendship would be at stake. and although it probably mattered very little to johnny (in sena’s opinion) (and she’s dumb so ignore her), sena only has him.

 

so she exhales very loudly, right outside of taeil’s door when it suddenly flung open, an extremely flushed hybrid at her immediate field of view.

 

winwin’s furrowed eyebrows shadowed his rather perplexed set of expressions, having taken a sniff of the air. he’s alerted by the rather territorial scent of another hybrid— of alpha qualities most probably— hissing at the possibility of such creatures harming his owner. 

 

while winwin’s delicate porcelain like features scowled at the air for nothing, sena’s out to get his attention, trying to peek behind the larger frame to get taeil’s attention.

 

“is taeil home?” sena speedily probed at the hybrid, not particularly wasting any time to get his strayed attention (also, she didn’t want to leave jaehyun to his own accord for too long— what if he slipped and fell and no one was there to carry him to the hospi—).

 

“yes,” his accented voice replied, eyes focused on tracing sena’s restless figure. “he _is_ home.”

 

“can you pl-“

 

“sena?” taeil calls out from behind the male ocelot, eyes widening at the late night intrusion, “did you need anything?”

 

sena fiddles about in her spot, watching as the eyes she once fell for anxiously searched her for an answer. sena has never came to him at such terrible timings and would usually hold off whatever she needed to tell him for the next day— not quite keen in disturbing his evening.

 

“does- does winwin have any old pajamas he doesn’t wear anymore? maybe something more stretched and baggy?” she asked, hoping that he’ll have some overused ones.

 

taeil glances at his hybrid before coming back to sena, “he should have,” and winwin’s gone to probably get some before taeil could even have. “why?” and there’s an awkward few seconds of silence before taeil gets the gist of it.

 

_“did you get him?”_

 

taeil leans against the frame of his door, eyes flickering  with the tranquil white lights reflected along the luscious black pupils.

 

sena reasons with herself that taeil's been weeded out of her heart, no longer a reason for her depressing mood whenever she's less busier than usual. but whenever she gets a complete view of his familiar, yet exceptionally dashing figure, her heartbeats gets a little more flustered than usual, alerting her of the never-ending spiral of romantic frustrations. oh my god, she knows that he'll never reciprocate what measly feeling she has for him-- for goodness sake, he probably doesn't even have the slightest guess. 

 

and then he swipes a hand over her eyes, making sure that she's actually paying attention, a smile growing on his lips when she jumped, feeling startled.

 

"fancy him that much already?"

 

"it's not like--" she's perturbed by herself. if it's not like that... what is it? 

 

is she so concerned that taeil would get the wrong idea? 

 

what did she _fear_ so much?

 

 _ugh_ ,

 

 _why_ can't she get over him.

 

she's rather exasperated by her own actions, almost wanting to scream to taeil, professing her long-time one-sided feelings for him.

 

but she's civil.

 

yeah.

 

civilised people don't do that. 

 

so she exhales loudly, and looks straight at him. "yeah, he's lovely." she almost accentuated each and every syllable, making sure that the male would get her message. she hopes he's a little jealous and falls into another dip when she realises that could never be possible. 

 

"-na? sena?" taeil swipes another hand in front of her.

 

she shakes her head to get back into concentration,

 

watching as winwin magically popped by taeil's side. the hybrid had returned with a few pajamas bundled in his arms, glancing between taeil and sena. 

 

"clothes," winwin offered. 

 

sena thanked him politely, accepting with both hands as the hybrid suddenly stopped midway, ears flattening at her palm. 

 

"my fault," he traces the line with one finger, shifting the weight of his old pajamas to one arm. "sorry."

 

sena's rather shocked at his apology. she never knew why the hybrid disliked her so much in the past-- but today was the first step towards a positive relationship. it was the first time he did such thing and her whole impression of him magically changed in the split second (she still remembers the large portion of the time where the hybrid hisses, claws, and offended her with his sharp tongue). 

 

"t-that's okay," she's lost for a proper reply, blindly accepting the bundle.

 

"you're a bit out of it today sena," taeil observes as he scans her complexion, "are you tired?"

 

"no!" she rushes to reply, not expecting her voice to be as loud as she did. "i-i'll have to go back to jaehyun now-- he's probably out of the bath-- um thanks winwin and lee taeil--" she knew she messed up so bad.

 

why was she rambling without thinking again?

 

"ahahahahahhAHHhahhahaa," she laughs, bowing ninety degrees once before running for her apartment door. 

 

"i'll make it up to you lee taeil!" she squeaks before disappearing into the comforts of her home.

 

taeil turns to winwin with furrowed eyebrows, "she called me lee taeil twice... right?"

 

the hybrid nods, "third time. last time too."

 

he bursts into laughter, triggering a smile on the male ocelot's face.

 

_"sena-rin is weird."_

 

taeil erupts into another round of overjoyed laughter.

 

winwin had always been good with his words. 

 


	16. big or bad

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> jaehyun doesn't understand his hybrid and owner dynamics.

 

sena comes inside just in time to see jaehyun stepping out of the bath with his used clothes in one hand, and the other securing a towel around his waist. she half-squeaks in agony, pining away for the inevitable occurrences when living with a male in the house. she should have been thoroughly prepared by this through repeated exposures by johnny's truly--

 

but she's not.

 

and she's wondering why her face feels as if it's on fire and why jaehyun's expressions were not mimicking her very own shock.

 

more than anything,

 

his flushed, smooth skin draped over his whole existence as if he wasn't fully human (which he's not...). his whole shoulder was bare and very silky looking, as if he was no better than a few months old infant. there was no visible marking or scars from where sena was standing at, eyes slowly trailing down to the muscles marked on his arms and abdomen (she almost forgot that he knew she was staring).

 

sena squeezed her eyes shut at the thought of it-- wishing the devils dancing inside her head (personified by johnny), would leave her imagination.

 

with her eyes still closed, she walked blindly towards him, extending the bundle of sleepwear. "these are winwin's," she feels him close by, judging from the light steps which accompanied. 

 

jaehyun stares at sena with furrowed brows, not particularly pleased with another mixture of scents tagged on her. "who...?" he tries not to sound too dissatisfied with her findings, holding back his instincts to track the fellas who she met beforehand, hoping to teach them a--

 

"my neighbour's hybrid," sena's eyes are still shut tightly, "i hope they fit you this time," jaehyun accepts the bundle, watching as sena then turns around with a blind eye, concerned that she might trip over herself.

 

sena's no further than a step ahead when she feels herself skid over the flooring, not noticing a piece of stray plastic wrapping underneath her. her eyes fluttered open, triggered by the fall. she's about to brace herself, (despite not truly trusting her rusty reflexes), before a body swings underneath her to cushion the fall, and she's safe and sound by the time she hits _something_.

 

jaehyun groans underneath her, breathing heavily as he kept a secure grip on sena's smaller frame. he opens his eyes fully to spot sena trying to bury herself into his chest, noticing the way her heart drummed against his skin. he doesn't know what to do at first, unmoving under her before sena pushes herself up from the position and jumps away. 

 

"you gotta be kidding me," he hears her curse under her breath, cheeks reddening further. she then goes to pick up the mess of flying pajamas, with jaehyun wrinkling his nose at the sprinkles of winwin's scent flying through the house, invading the previously sena dominated area. he mimics her actions, apologising about doing the place dirty.

 

"it's okay... you did it beca--" he noticed her stopping. "jaehyun,"

 

his ears perked up, glancing up at his owner simultaneously as she called upon his name. "yes?" he's breathless and rather riled up by the previous contact, heart racing against his chest.

 

"next time, you should just let me fall."

 

sena looked far too serious when saying that-- and jaehyun's kind of hesitant on following the order.

 

_"okay...?"_

 

\---

 

sena sets up a futon she dug up from the depths of her closet, remembering the souvenir johnny gifted her from japan. she's rather thankful towards him and jaehyun enters the bedroom after changing in the bathroom, picking a plain blue pajama, with a matching top and bottom. there's a white decorate line at the sleeves and ends of the pants, the same white line going down the neckline of the piece, following the course of the buttons. 

 

"where do i put the rest?" jaehyun's here with his bag and the bundle of pajamas. 

 

sena motions at her desk in the corner of the room, the male nodding before placing the little belonging he has at the designated spot. 

 

"do you want me to turn up the heater?" sena offers, fluffing up the futon's pillow.

 

jaehyun shakes his head, "it's warm enough."

 

the female casted one look at jaehyun's sad pile of possessions, sighing, "we'll have to go shopping when i have time."

 

jaehyun doesn't argue,

 

_(nor does he agree)._

 

and the male's thinking about why he's so comfortable living in this house-- recalling back to one of the lectures of hybrid and owner relationship where he's supposedly ranking underneath them. and then he casts a puzzled glance at sena who's slipping under the futon sheets--

 

wait.

 

_what?_

 

sena's quick to notice his questioning gaze. 

 

_"you take the bed."_

 


	17. on or off

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> it's hard to guesstimate intimacy.

 

jaehyun didn't know where to start. from sena's rather comfortable demeanour of settling into the futon-- or his lack of actions for the past night. she's taken him home--

 

but why is nothing happening.

 

he's even walked out of the bathroom without anything (save for the towel) (he couldn't do without) (he tried) ( _trust me_ ). 

 

and she's just...

 

she's acting as if he doesn't exist. 

 

he doesn't even know why he ended up on the bed, covers pulled up to his chest and sena's constant breathing echoing into the distant night. he doesn't know what time it is or how long it's been since he said a mumble of goodnight whilst sena told him _'sweet dreams'_ and they both split ways. (as in--

 

_not literally splitting.)_

 

and he doesn't understand why sena won't do anything to him.

 

he's been taught _stuff_.

 

how to please _stuff_.

 

how to _stuff_ \--

 

he's about to fail the number one life purpose of hybrids. he had one thing to do--

 

and holy cow he's going to fail it.

 

he's heard stories.

 

ones enough to keep him up at night...

 

about hybrids who couldn't satisfy their masters and end up at a more terrible facility. hybrids are only prized due to their... _purity_ after all. they were like maidens from the past-- used as a tool of trade and pleasure. not all hybrids downgrade a center when they do,

 

it's like going bankrupt.

 

it's the closest human term which could be associated with the process.

 

and maybe that's why jaehyun's so scared. so unwilling. so frustrated at himself growing older each year without leaving the cage. 

 

he was literally _caged_.

 

his own mind told him, hundreds and thousands of time again, that if he went with the human on the other side of the observatory glass, they'd return him.

 

he'd be casted away like dirt and that'll probably scar him for life. he's never seen any of his friends or at least, the kids he grew up with at the center, ever again after they're taken. he's only seen newer, younger, and much more good-looking bunch coming in. his age grew,

 

and so did the distance at which they placed him.

 

his room became towards the end of the center, 

 

where not a lot of visitors come.

 

and he can smell a hint of vanilla in the air before sena arrives, 

 

and he has a thing for it.

 

because vanilla essence is widely used in cakes, treats, and sweets. he loved those stuff. 

 

and he wasn't so sure why he did what he did,

 

but he willingly let her took him home,

 

and he was even very obedient to her every word.

 

jaehyun's so sure he's doing everything right (and by the books).

 

he gulps down the bubbling fear accelerating inside him. eating him up and the thought of being sent back to where he's no longer wanted sent shivers down his spine. he doesn't want to be overlooked through a glass window and spending life day to day without a single purpose. he's sick of being imprisoned in a small room, designated for himself. 

 

he's _sick_ of being **alone**.

 

and his instincts urge him to do something. not only because he has to do it-- 

 

but because of the way sena's breath comes out so serenely and the soft purrs that alternates in between the gentle risings and falls of her chest. she looks so at peace when she's asleep.

 

so _innocent_.

 

and that riles a fire up in jaehyun's chest. 

 

he wants to do _things_.

 

_"sena."_

 

the way her name rolls over his tongue felt foreign and extremely unfamiliar. and he's guessing that it's the first time he has said so. 

 

but as per average means,

 

she doesn't even move.

 

sena looked so comfortable in her sleep that the male couldn't help but leave her alone.

 

he blushes red and buries his face into his pillow, groaning as he twists and turns in his _supposed_ sleep.

 

he strips the covers away and gradually slides down to the futon, deliberating whether he should bring down the pillow or not.

 

seeing the space available, he decides otherwise while curling up around sena, smiling as he finds her caving into his warmth. 

 

he's overjoyed sena turns to him, their faces side by side.

 

he takes this time to observe her facial distinctions through and through, eyes sensitive to the smallest details even through the darkness. 

 

and then her arms slip around his waist, and she draws closer to him. he's taken aback, heartbeat racing against his chest. 

 

he takes away a few strands covering sena's face, and he smiles when he sees her tranquil self. 

 

_"sena."_

 

\---

 

sena wakes up to a feeling of warmth and sunshine. she remembers forgetting to close the blinds in when she fell asleep almost instantaneously on the futon last night, knowing how busy and fatigued she's been for the past few days. 

 

from the deliberating on whether she should take in jaehyun (which might have been the best decision of her life) (she feels superiorly more alive these days) (although it's barely been a day) (whatevs), to the pile of documents she needs to get to at work (she can legitimately feel miss park breathing down her neck). 

 

she snuggles up to the figure next to her and exhales deeply, trying to remove all of these dirty thoughts from her mind. 

 

(dirty as in they did her dirty.)

 

(as in _stress_.)

 

and she tightens her arms around the figure and literally buries her face into his chest, reminiscing the thin lavender scent. he smells like the soap she uses, along with his natural scent (which oddly smells like a hearty sniff of lavender).

 

and it's just so warm and comforting that she's--

 

_hold the f u c k up--_

 

she hears a whimper and _something_ trying to get out of her rather intimate hold.

 

sena's eyes fluttered open and she's still pressed against a body. 

 

and she closes it again,

 

thinking that this must all be a dream.

 

and then opens.

 

and then she glances up to meet a flushed-looking jaehyun.

 

_and she lost it._

 


	18. jeus or jealous

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a surprise house visit really do come with surprises.

 

"i-i'm sorry sena it's my fault that--"

 

the female stands a feet back, eyes shaking, " _jaehyun_ take two steps back."

 

and she's wondering why she's feeling so anxious near him.

 

she could see the way the hybrid's downcast eyes and slouched form had him spiralling into a rather depressive mood. he does as he's told and stands still.

 

she wants to sink into the ground or even magically transport into another place.

 

or maybe,

 

she's not quite sure what to do with a guy and waking up in someone's arms first thing in the morning

 

wait.

 

how did he end up there anyways?

 

"did you... fall?" was the first most probable explanation.

 

jaehyun's eyes met hers,

 

he went even redder,

 

she wondered how much more he'll redden before he explodes,

 

and then he shakes his head, 

 

eyes not quite meeting hers anymore.

 

"okay," she left it at that.

 

and she trails slowly towards the kitchen, feeling a pair of feet following her movements. but when she turns around, jaehyun's returned to his original position, body turn to face the other side.

 

she sighs, removes her rather irritated expression, before sharing a small smile. 

 

"what do you want for breakfast?"

 

the hybrid was silent for a while, lamenting his life choices. he didn't want to be forceful at all, but his anxiety's slowly eating him up. little by little. 

 

he returns the smile,

 

not quite reaching his eyes.

 

_"anything's fine."_

 

\---

 

they had eggs, toast and roasted tomatoes for breakfast. 

 

sena literally has nothing in her fridge and she's spooked because she's always been a foodie (even though she tries to eat more healthy foods), and she wouldn't miss a grocery run for the world--

 

all the hybrid jazz and johnny's shit got in the way.

 

(johnny's shit = _her_ shit.)

 

"we should go shopping today," she comments, sighing as she scrubs the dishes before passing it onto jaehyun's very capable hands (from what she's seen) (like, how can someone even be so perfect with washing the dishes) (it was so spotless, she fell into deep disbelief).

 

jaehyun nods without a word, placing everything neatly onto the drying rack.

 

sena did the laundry whilst jaehyun changed out of his pajamas, coming out only seconds later with his tousled hair and bleary eyes.

 

she's not that ignorant to not know that she was the cause of his current discomfort.

 

she probably said a thousand shit things his little hybrid ears shouldn't hear. 

 

"jae--"

 

her words were cut short when the doorbell rang, having sena unwillingly turn to the source before trudging over to open it. 

 

she doesn't even bother peeping through the observatory hole before opening the door straight away, not minding jaehyun's sudden change in movement as he drew closer towards sena and the door alike.

 

"it's jungwoo and lucas," he finally spoke, body placed right behind sena herself. 

 

she didn't even need to know how he knew who the people standing opposite them (in their current position), separated by a door, are. hybrids have keen senses (from personal experiences where ten knows whose farts belong to who) (don't ask what happened) (you don't need to know).

 

she coughs into her palm to adjust her probably raspy morning voice, 

 

before opening the door.

 

"morning sena!" jungwoo pipes first thing in the morning.

 

sena gives him a smile (though it doesn't really reach her eyes), before nodding at him. "morning jungwoo."

 

jungwoo's eyes travelled to jaehyun's lukewarm pair before leaning in to whisper to sena's ear. 

 

_"did you guys have a fight?"_

 

sena flicks his forehead in reflex (thank god she didn't chokehold him), and sighed. 

 

"not particularly."

 

"oh well," jungwoo rubs at the spot, a pout in place, "that's good to hear." he nudges at lucas' ribcage as the lion rumbles down a laughter. 

 

"so... did you belled the wrong room or--"

 

"nah," jungwoo smiles, eyes sparkling as it met sean's. "i'm here to deliver some more stuff for jaehyun-- and supposedly inspecting how well the hybrid is settling in-- but johnny's told me enough about you to know that you wouldn't do much to him."

 

"oh," sena doesn't know what johnny's been telling everyone-- but okay. 

 

lucas hands over a bag of things over to jaehyun, the tiger murmuring a word of thanks as the said lion winks at him in a non-flirtatious manner. "all good bro."

 

"so how's the first night?" jungwoo's smiles deepen further, showcasing the laughing lines around his cheeks. 

 

"it's okay," sena steps aside to let both jungwoo and lucas in. 

 

she wasn't to keen on letting her guests stand in front of her door much longer, opting to let the pair inside (with jaehyun stepping aside with her, as if he was mimicking her movements).

 

"aw, you didn't have to," jungwoo then turns to lucas to undo his collar, the hybrid stretching his neck so that his owner had better access. the male seemed to realise something midway, whipping his head towards sena in a flustered manner, "you don't mind him without a leash do you?"

 

sena snorts as she gestures at jaehyun, "make yourself at home."

 

\---

 

turns out, 

 

sena had almost gotten herself fined if jungwoo didn't visit today. 

 

outside of personal residence (and other people's homes in general) (people who let your hybrids run around their house without a leash anyways) (there has to be mutual consent) (it's confusing shit), hybrids HAVE to be on a leash in any kind of public environment--

 

aka a step outside of any kind of homes.

 

sena wasn't too particularly keen on knowing much about hybrids-- and even though she learnt a lot from her experiences with ten, she couldn't have possibly remembered every single detail.

 

she was,

 

a first time owner after all. 

 

jungwoo displays the plain black leash, "jaehyun didn't seem like the type to like flashy colours, so i picked the most neutral ones."

 

there was two colours of both leashes and collars: black and white.

 

the bag also contained a medical book (ones used to record hybrid's medical history and check-up records), a new owner manual, and a few other knick knacks. 

 

"thank you for going out of your way jungwoo... i appreciate it a lot." 

 

jungwoo chuckles and pats sena's forehead like a rather unique mother would to her child.

 

"don't mind," he adds, "it's my job anyways." he takes a glance at jaehyun, who was staring at the new things. "did you enjoy the sex?"

 

sena instinctively threw the new owner manual she was holding at jungwoo's face, earning a loud scream from lucas when he realised what had occurred. 

 

"sENA BAD! WHY! WE FRIENDS!" he brings his owner into his chest, semi-growling and the other half whimpering. 

 

jaehyun positioned himself in front of sena, ready to pounce if lucas did do anything wrong. 

 

his ears was red.

 

he can feel them.

 

and the beating of his heart only grew faster by the additional adrenaline rush to protect his said owner.

 

"calm down, calm down." jungwoo laughs nervously as he pats lucas away and turns to jaehyun, "we won't do anything to sena... i _promise_."

 

jaehyun backs away slightly, planting himself in front of sena whilst she just patted his shoulder, "i got this," she approaches jungwoo and plops right down onto jaehyun's lap. "jungwoo," she stares right into his soul, "i don't hate you--" her eyes turns darker than usual, "but i might have to if you bring out inappropriate topics like that."

 

jungwoo smiles, though the tips of his words were rather icy. "it's not inappropriate sena. it's professional. part of a house visit includes sexual education." his eyes glances at both unbothered sena and a heavily bothered jaehyun's position, "and by how you're sitting..." a smirk replaces the smile, "i'm guessing the both of you had a great night."

 

sena rolls right out of jaehyun's lap and hugs her floor, not minding that she's giving all three males the view of her backside. 

 

"yeah, the futon was great," she mumbled into the floor. 

 

jaehyun glances back at jungwoo, fiddling with his fingers in an anxious manner, "we didn't do anything."

 

lucas drops his leash onto the ground and gasps so loud taeil and winwin probably woke up. 

 

jungwoo leans closer to the tiger hybrid, left eye slightly twitching as he speaks. 

 

"what do you mean you didn't do anything."

 

"she... fell asleep." jaehyun tried to explain, ears flat against his head as he does so, ever so remorseful of his acts.

 

(or of the things he didn't do.)

 

jungwoo mutters something or rather about how johnny warned him that sena probably doesn't know shit about what she's doing with her hybrid. 

 

it's true though,

 

_she doesn't._

 


	19. sour or so

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> life's as sweet as strawberries.

 

jungwoo ends up leaving on a _'sour panties on a twist'_ mode. he smiles a tad too artificially sweet, and lucas trails with accented apologies in the end. the male also mentioned something about for sena to stop making jaehyun so anxious about his position in the household (which literally consisted of just sena and him), and to act more like the grown up she's supposed to be.

 

and then he also mentioned something about johnny coming in for a night visit to explain some of things he was supposed to justify right now. (sena wanted to ask so badly why he wouldn't tell her right here and now but decides otherwise in response to jungwoo's rather scary tight smile.)

 

"uh yeah, sure." she really did want to apologise, but jungwoo walks out with a wave and lucas trails with an apology and runs after his owner.

 

both jaehyun and sena turns to each other at the same time.

 

"he's not very happy with me is he?"

 

"i think... he's just _worried_."

 

sena's furrowed eyebrows explained more than a thousand words.

 

jaehyun slowly upturns the end corners of his lips, reaching out to tuck a strand of stray hair over sena's ear. "it'll be fine. i'll explain it better next time."

 

\--

 

sena doesn't know what to do with a collar and a leash, letting jaehyun take it out of her hands to place around his very own neck, (but not before he connects it to the leash).

 

"is this necessary?"

 

jaehyun gradually looks up from his frozen stature, not really expecting a question from a ' _human_ '. "it's... the law." he drawls on, talking slow enough for sena to fully let the fact sink in.

 

"still," she rubs at her arms and sighs, "forget what i said."

 

jaehyun's first reflexes strike him as he grabbed onto sena's wrist, making her halt in place. he traces the way her eyes followed him in an instant, lips parting to question his acts and the slight rising of her shoulders which always occurred when she was trapped in a semi-shocked position. 

 

"no," his made eye contact, "it is necessary... according to other people. but i think as long as _we_ trust our owners enough, none of us would do anything bad outside."

 

sena grabs her handbag while simultaneously intertwining her fingers with jaehyun's. she sighs in pure relief, "finally," her eyes doesn't meet him as she urged him towards the front door, immediately slipping into her regular flats, " _someone_ gets me."

 

\---

 

contrary to sena's oppositions, jaehyun forced the handle of the leash in between sena's hands (murmuring something about _despite her valiant opinions, it's not really too smart of her to get fined on the first day she takes him out_ ), before covering it up with his palm once again. 

 

sena's trying really hard to stop the process of her well-known clammy hands, thanking the gods that it was wintertime. 

 

"who didn't understand you?" jaehyun questions when they're a block out of home. 

 

he's rather inquisitive about the outside world, taking in the scenery as if everything would melt away with the snow. 

 

sena breathes into the air, watching as puffy air came out to greet the cold. 

 

"johnny. you know... the weird, tall dude who came with me both times." she murmurs, half of her face covered by her scarf, "he's kind of my best friend..." she doesn't mention the part where she doesn't have any other close friends outside of him, "and his hybrid ten." she huffs when remembering the scenario. "i was asking them about why ten always wears a leash when he goes out... i mean i know all hybrids do... it's the law... i get it... but i wanted to know the cause-- you know-- but then," she clenches on her molars, "they passed it as a joke and the shittiest excuse that it was because it's fucking hot--" she pauses, rewinding the language used.

 

jaehyun looks over, more intrigued by her stop rather than the chosen swears.

 

"never mind... johnny's just a terrible friend." she mumbles into her scarf, tightening her hold on jaehyun's hand.

 

jaehyun smiles slightly at the gesture, making sure he sticks close to her even further. 

 

he knows that hybrids are generally warmer than humans in general (unless they come from a strain of cold-blooded mammals), and seeing as to how red sena's nose looked at the moment, he deemed it fit to get a tiny bit more personal with her at this very moment. 

 

sena doesn't even notice as they arrived at the large supermarket, five minutes by foot from her apartment. "we'll stock up the fridge first... and then buy you more stuff, okay?"

 

it was a weird question asked...

 

in the sense that jaehyun would never refute the answer.

 

_"sure."_

 

\---

 

the hybrid passes by many commercial aisles, feeling rather claustrophobic by the enclosed environment. he makes sure that sena is still in front of him, despite them holding hands, and he takes liberty of pushing the cart whilst sena picks up items from here and there. 

 

they were mainly stuck at the fresh produce aisle for a while, with sena keen on making sure that jaehyun has a proper nutrition guide in place. 

 

he watches her as she squinted an eye at the vegetables, making sure that they were free of any bruises or of any rotten parts. she was skeptical about the quality or taste in general-- but sighs when she hears herself overthinking of the use of pesticides and whether or not she should go completely organics for another ten bucks or so. (but her groceries are more than partially organic anyways... so it should be fine... right?)

 

"if you find anything you like," sena picks up a bunch of onions, "don't hesitate to put it inside the cart."

 

jaehyun nods,

 

but most probably,

 

he won't do anything even close to that.

 

\---

 

sena ends up buying a few more punnet of strawberries when jaehyun stops in place whilst his eyes took in the vast amount of the certain produce available. berries were normally scarce and were a luxury for the rich-- but it was currently on sale and sena finds nothing wrong with a small splurge to things jaehyun finds of interest. 

 

the male apologetically eyes her as sena placed four punnet into the cart, smiling to herself when jaehyun murmurs a timid ' _thanks_ '.

 

they ended up buying a little too much in the end, with jaehyun carrying three bags, and sena with one.

 

she insisted on carrying an even split, but the male was even more adamant in carrying all four of the grocery bags, to which sena nags at him for one, though the male was keen enough to use his height to an advantage.

 

to this,

 

sena rebels back threatening to let goof her hold on the leash and to take the collar off him as a whole. 

 

jaehyun panicked.

 

hell,

 

he had a few echoing internal screams as he glanced around to make sure no one had heard his owner before consoling her with the lightest bag. 

 

sena scoffs at this, muttering something along the lines of that she's not even close to being someone weak and that he should realise that. 

 

"if you don't want to see me as a hybrid being used by his owner, think of me as a man," he halts, slightly astonished by his own words.

 

sena snorts at the male, shaking her head. "gender inequality isn't the trend these days. i can be just as competent as you are in carrying bags."

 

"you know what i mean..." jaehyun blushes red, not truly understanding why he was so flustered by her response. 

 

perhaps it was because it goes entirely against the morals and teachings he was taught back at the cage.

 

everything with sena is so foreign and new. 

 

no one had ever told him it was going to be this difficult handling an owner.

 

he thought that if he gave himself up without a fight, they would just use him as per contract and he'd go day to day without much of a hitch.

 

but sena's difficult.

 

she's different from the textbook answer of an owner. 

 

she's more like... a frenemy.

 

he can't help but to argue with her sometimes (though it was practically drilled into him that hybrids should NEVER go against their owner's words). and the rest of the time, she leaves him to his own accord.

 

she loathed him when he tries to pick up housework, saying that they should do an equal split down the middle.

 

and then she challenges his belief, 

 

making him question what he had been taught and was familiar with for so long.

 

it was strange.

 

sena was unique.

 

but jaehyun is _devoted_ to that individuality. 

 


	20. dine or do

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a meal brings people together.

 

they made a short stopover back at sena's apartment, placing all of the groceries down before having a quick sort-out of what should be placed in the fridge and freezer first and foremost. 

 

jaehyun seemed to accustomed to where everything goes (sena suspects they teach hybrids these kinds of household details as well), slowing down when he's about to place the two tubs of ice cream sena bought on a rather skimmed version of the freezer section (in case she decides to buy all the frozen treats altogether). 

 

sena bites down on her bottom lip to prevent herself from laughing at his antics. "we'll have one of the tub today."

 

"the..." he turns to look at her, "whole thing?" 

 

"hey," sena declares, rather unfazed, "before you came i had the whole thing to myself," she's rather proud at this, "in one sitting."

 

"but... isn't that bad?"

 

she snorts, "yeah, _it's bad for my weight."_

 

\---

 

sena realised that memes applied to her daily life now.

 

or whatever you call internet gigs.

 

there was a diagram divided into two, one showing a whole tub of ice cream, labelled as ' _single_ ', and the other half displayed just fifty perfect of the total amount, with the title, ' _taken_ '.

 

sena muffles a cry as jaehyun looks at her in concern, wondering why she was making a fuss over her phone.

 

sena doesn't reply to his apprehensive gaze, only muttering little words which indicated that this was their stop, immediately intertwining her fingers with the male. 

 

"clothes... is there anything else i'm supposed to get you?" she walks down the street, watching as other hybrids get tugged at by their owners.

 

the more civil ones walks a step behind their possessor, eyes downcast to not meet anyone else's.

 

she spot jaehyun's actions mimicking the rest of the hybrid population, head hung low.

 

"what are you doing?" 

 

"huh?" jaehyun doesn't dare to glance up, "i can't raise my head in public."

 

"that's stupid. you'll get a neck-ache."

 

"it's not part of the law... but it's public etiquette." he informed her, casting a few peeks.

 

sena lets go of both the leash and his hand for a second, before hooking up her with his (she realised how tall jaehyun was at this moment), before sliding the holding end of the leash onto her wrist. "stand up straight, and look forwards." she says softly, "if anyone's about to fight you, you can throw me at them. i'll do something about it."

 

"i wouldn't throw you--" 

 

"back straight jung jaehyun!" sena repeats, walking in a rather stiff fashion as she urged the male to look up.

 

people who passed by gave them quizzical looks. it as if sena was an uneducated dump who didn't know how society works as a whole (she probably is). and jaehyun complies more than she likes when he avoids any kind of gaze, before hanging his head down again, only for sena to nudge him at her side.

 

"look up and smile," sena pressed on, sort of abusing her power (in a good way-- or so she thinks). 

 

jaehyun does as he's told, when sena rehearsed the fact that if she finds out he's coming home with a sore neck, she'll bring him out on a podium next time. (where she'll get one... remains a mystery.)

 

they get to some of the fashionable street stores with very minimal damage control. there was only a handful of hybrids gawking in awe, and a couple of owners sneering in disgust. 

 

sena,

 

of course,

 

paid no heed to them.

 

jaehyun didn't need to look down like a depressed little kid who was denied his lot of treats. 

 

sena would never allow that.

 

and in between looking for outfits that would suit the hybrid, jaehyun placed himself beside sena, watching her picking him out a few articles.

 

"do you have a specific style in mind?"

 

"anything's fine," he confirmed, nodding eagerly, trailing down the expanse of the store. he's rather sheepish towards some of the other customer's gaze, ears flat against his head as he attempts to stick closer to sena, almost apprehensive of losing her. 

 

"between this one, or this one," sena holds up two kinds of hoodies, "which one do you prefer? or do you like both? not like both?"

 

jaehyun was pretty much bombarded with various options as he skimmed through his options, knowing that sena would literally make him stand there to choose what he wants. 

 

he picks at a cherry blossom pink hoodie, in comparison to the army green one, and sena's put it against her arm, taking a smaller sized one from the pile.

 

"do i need two of it...?"

 

sena doesn't quite meet his eyes when she mouses away from his stare, _"it's for me."_

 

\---

 

buying jeans for jaehyun was quite the experience, with the male having great difficulty with putting on some of the tighter jeans, and constantly mewling at sena to aid him in his laborious journey.

 

the hybrid comes out wearing his plain white shirt and a tight-fitting black jeans, with some kind of holes in it for design. it was recommended by the shopkeeper after they addressed jaehyun's figure, expressing the fact that he could probably ' _show it off a little further_ '.

 

sena had to manually shut her bottom jaw when he does come out, a blush coming through his cheeks, spreading like a wild bush fire. 

 

"how do i look?" he took a short glimpse at sena, watching as she fiddles with the straps of her hand bag, nodding in affirmation, "nice-- i mean you look nice."

 

"... _thanks_."

 

\---

 

they came home with various amounts of shopping bags. the first thing that sena did when they have stepped a foot back into her home is to drop the bags, turn around, and undo the loosely placed collar on jaehyun's neck. 

 

he stands still for her, almost ogling her down as he bends down to reach her height, making sure that sena is of no comfort.

 

it takes her sweaty hand more than a short moment to undo the restriction, almost relishing the intimate time spent quite pressed up again jaehyun, his eyes unwavering as he peeked from underneath his bangs, hiding his blooming smile.

 

"sena," jaehyun whispers softly, breaking sena out of his internal daydream, with the collar already off, currently dangling over his neck.

 

sena coughs into her fist, grabbing the bags before proceeding to head to the couch to drop off. she doesn't really share jaehyun's gaze, busying herself at the kitchen almost immediately to prepare something edible.

 

tonight's menu was something easy and simple:

 

pasta.

 

sena boils the pasta in salt water until it was al dente, grabbing a big enough pan to host both the pasta and the generous amounts of sauce. 

 

creamy tomato sauce was one of the few things she could inhale in a few seconds, feeling jaehyun's gaze as he sits at the dinner table in an orderly fashion.

 

sena grabs two plates whilst making sure that the pasta is cooked thoroughly with the sauce, placing two thirds on one, and the rest on her smaller share.

 

jaehyun's ready with the forks when she does bring it over, warning him that it was quite hot.

 

"i think i should buy you your own wardrobe," sena mumbles, peering over at the stack of clothes on the living area.

 

jaehyun doesn't quite reply,

 

settling for a passive him as he forks out his pasta before blowing on it gently,

 

placing it delicately into his mouth.

 

truth be told,

 

he's only ever seen pasta from romantic films during movie nights back at the cage, the food they received was more like mush and a special treats only occurred during their birthday,

 

where they'll get more decent food like a bowl of rice with a serving of soup.

 

jaehyun savours the taste, enjoying the way the tomato sauce rolls off his tongue.  

 

sena becomes aware of his rather delighted self, raptured by the influence of his positive emotions.

 

they spend the evening making small talks about jaehyun's preference in clothing once more, laughter and smiles filling the air.

 


	21. this or that

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> she's dreaming.

 

johnny arrives at sena's apartment just a bit past twelve. he had come in at a rather unexpected time and sena groans as she rose from her futon, suppressing a smile as she sees that jaehyun had rolled over to her beddings instead of staying on her king single bed. 

 

at first,

 

the beeps of her phone,

 

signalling her of a rather persistent intruder,

 

was constantly sending her messages at a frequent interval.

 

then she received a call,

 

blindly holding it against her ear as she maffles into the speaker, "hmm, yes?"

 

"open up babe! i have literally been standing outside your door for the last fifteen minutes! what the hell are you doing?!"

 

ugh,

 

it's johnny.

 

sena sits up slightly, making sure to undo jaehyun's hold on her waist,

 

she picks her self up gradually,

 

making sure that she didn't trip on anything else lying on the floor.

 

she ends up tiptoeing her way out of the futon, making sure she unlocked the door in the most hushed manner possible,

 

cursing johnny for his terrible antics.

 

she ends up opening the door for him,

 

a weary, yet still somehow greasy, johnny took place.

 

"how kind of you," he slurs, giving sena a tight hug, rubbing her back in small circles.

 

sena hissed at him, swatting his advances away.

 

_"i did it because if i left you alone, you'd be banging on my door!"_

 

"afraid to wake up your little boy?" he winks, settling down on the couch rather snugly.

 

sena rolls her eyes at him, making her way to the kitchen, "coffee?"

 

"uh! yes please!"

 

they end up sitting side by side at the couch,

 

johnny almost chugging down the entire cup in a heartbeat. 

 

he exhales in relief, "you know your own parents hate you when they send you to attend six meetings and three exhibitions all in one day."

 

"you literally stand there and sip on alcohol," sena sighs, not quite sympathising with him.

 

"they come up to me and attempt a highly uncomfortable conversation!" 

 

meanwhile,

 

sena has to propel herself through an endless amount of paperworks, 

 

watching as she drowns herself in it.

 

"i would take that over a sore ass anyday," she plants her chin onto her open palms, staring right ahead to the pitch black tv screen.

 

she sees johnny's squirmy fingers on the side of her, his eyes most probably scrunched into some kind of deformed cresents,

 

"do you want a massage?"

 

_"go home you hoe."_

 

\---

 

it takes johnny another five or so minutes to calm down from his teasing high, addressing the important facts straight and hard onto the concrete.

 

"you can't play nice and be all like, _'i'll wait for you'_ , in disguise for, _'wait for me, i'm more of a virgin than you'_ game." johnny sets down his cup, stretching an arm over the sofa head, inevitably positioning it behind sena's head.

 

she rolls her heavy mind backwards, resting on johnny's arm. 

 

"i'm not playing games."

 

"don't be stupid," he scoffs, "you know exactly what i'm talking about."

 

sena doesn't quite have a proper reply to that,

 

settling to close her drowsy lids.

 

"they get taught stuff. it's not exactly pleasant-- but it's sort of like if someone was to brainwash you," johnny pauses to rearrange his train of thoughts, "they need some kind of physical confirmation. and if you still don't understand why jungwoo's so mad at you-- it's because he thinks that you might return jaehyun. you haven't done it after all. means you're not interested."

 

sena would have spit out any kind of liquid inside her mouth if she were to have something to drink.

 

but she didn't.

 

and so,

 

she settled for a reflective demeanour. 

 

"i didn't think of that," she then glances at the amount of bags residing in an empty corner of the room, "and i would never return jae. that's just nowhere inside my mind."

 

"do you think that he could _read your mind_?"

 

\---

 

johnny leaves close to two o'clock in the morning, rehearsing the fact that she should do the deed before it's too late. 

 

and he tells her places which she could stimulate most, to which sena stares with wide, frightened eyes, having contained too much information. 

 

she questions his validity as a friend--

 

and looks at him with slightly revulsed eyes (as if he was sexually harassing someone right in front of her) (in fact,

 

she was the one who got an ear rape full of bullshit).

 

(not total bull--

 

but one's close enough to be shit.)

 

sena washes the coffee cup thoroughly, relishing the feeling of the numbing tap water under the pressure of winter temperature.

 

she then sighs and goes to rearrange the pillows on the couch which johnny did dirty to,

 

before going back inside the room.

 

in the end,

 

she settled in her original bed, 

 

after making sure that jaehyun's tucked nicely into the warmth of the futon,

 

blanket secured all over him.

 


	22. haste or hugs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> jaehyun's a big boy.
> 
> ps.s.s..s.ss.ss.s: very slow updates. i'm just gonna die over the exam period. watch me resurrect for the holidays.

 

jaehyun wakes up to a feeling of emptiness.

 

the morning air drew cold breaths on his skin, skimming off the entirety of warmth exfoliated by his body heat.

 

he shivers in his spot,

 

opting for a rough morning stretch to start his day.

 

he glances over to the other side of the futon,

 

disheartened by the lack of his owner.

 

he then sits up to eye the bed,

 

and sena was nowhere in sight.

 

scramming up as swiftly as possible, jaehyun heads for the door, almost bolting to the point where his chests rose up and down in a heavy manner,

 

body in shock at such an early time.

 

he's given a staring contest by sena who was making them a simple breakfast of oatmeal, stirring in condiments such as cinnamon and cut-up pieces of apples.

 

"you're up," she comments, turning off the heat to walk over to him, "why are you so sweaty? it's bloody cold in here," she rubs at her arms, already feeling quite chilly just by looking at him.

 

jaehyun doesn't quite approach her,

 

trying to calm down his overly beaten heart.

 

sena ends up using her sleeves to clear away the sweat hanging by his fringe, making sure to dry him properly before patting his head in a comforting manner. 

 

"i need to go to work today,

 

that's why i woke up so early," 

 

all that jaehyun could do was nod and exhale deeply once again.

 

\---

 

breakfast went by in a breeze as sena tells jaehyun the location of his lunch (aka last night's pasta) (she made some more just this morning) (sena barely slept for three hours and in the end, decided that she couldn't sleep much longer) (thank god for concealers). 

 

she ends up taking a tumbler of coffee with her to work, 

 

grabbing her bag as jaehyun watches her like a hawk.

 

"you're going?" he doesn't dare to cling onto her in a childish manner, intimated by the thoughts of him overstepping the boundaries through acts of immaturity.

 

"yeah," sena slips on her moderately sized heels, "you can do whatever you like at home! just make sure you don't turn on the stove or anything like that-- use the microwave to heat it up," she jumps around for the pair, "also i left my number on a piece of paper and my old phone on the dining table. leave me a message when you're troubled with something," she turns to smile at him,

 

realising that jaehyun's standing right in front of her by this stage.

 

"you'll be okay right?"

 

the hybrid nods.

 

she pats his cheeks in an endearing manner, enjoying the way his complexion reaction to her touch.

 

he was a bright tomato in no time.

 

she smiles at that and gently pats him two more times before spinning her body to face the door. 

 

jaehyun realises she's really leaving him,

 

hitting his palm onto the door, 

 

trapping her between his chest and the exit.

 

sena casts a funny look at him, "this isn't a kabe don, is this?"

 

"what's a... cape done?"

 

she shakes her head and coughs into her balled fist, "nevermind," she looks up to greet his gaze once again, "why are you stopping me?"

 

"can i..." he tries to hide the flush, ears giving away the spectrum of his emotions, " _hug you_?"

 

sena doesn't do much for a starter,

 

preferring to let him take on the active role. 

 

she does though,

 

give him an encouraging smile, 

 

opening her arms out to welcome him.

 

jaehyun timidly wraps his arms around her smaller frame, 

 

sighing in relief when he catches scent of her strawberry-scented shampoo.

 

(the one he's wearing right now.)

 

and let's go a bit too soon for his own liking.

 

(why he did that--

 

he doesn't quite know.)

 

(actually,

 

he does.

 

...

 

he doesn't want her to be late for work.)

 

"walk safely," jaehyun utters, eyes not leaving sena's.

 

"thanks," she reciprocated, "stay safe."

 

and off she went.

 

jaehyun knows he's staring at the closed door for far too long, 

 

remembering that sena had made him breakfast before he trudges over to the dining table and sits down, picking up his spoon.

 

he sees the piece of paper and the phone in front of him, eyes trailing to the expanse of the apartment.

 

...

 

_has it always looked this big?_

 

**Author's Note:**

> *never edits*
> 
> aka wording and sentence structure may seem like i'm high @2am (which technically isn't too wrong).
> 
> (this is true for this whole fic... i'll buckle down to editing after i finish.)
> 
> (maybe.)


End file.
